


Deliverance

by BeautyAndStrength



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Romance, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Captain America: The First Avenger, Conflict, F/M, Gay OC, Hydra (Marvel), Love Letters, M/M, Missing in Action, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rescue Missions, Search Parties, Slight Canon Divergence, Some profanity, Story is more complicated than it appears, The French Resistance, War-related violence, World War II, sexual implications but no actual smut (sorry)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-23 00:30:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17672975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautyAndStrength/pseuds/BeautyAndStrength
Summary: Can people really fall off the face of the Earth? Bucky's beginning to believe so, after the man he loves went missing 4 months ago, hardly leaving a trace. That doesn't mean Bucky will stop looking for him, though. He'll find him, even if he has to jump off the edge of the Earth itself to get him back.Set during The First Avenger.





	Deliverance

**Author's Note:**

> OK, just a few things before we continue. Firstly, this is my first gay male OC story. I admit I am a bit nervous about writing stories like this, for fear of misrepresentation and offending anyone. So I'll be treading into this very carefully. If I write something that is offensive or misinformed, please let me know, and I will do what I need to do in order to fix it.
> 
> Secondly, I tried to keep this story fairly historically accurate (it's Captain America, so that wasn't too much of a priority), which is why there is segregation in the military, and why homosexuality is shown to be illegal in the military as well. 
> 
> I also tried to keep it geographically accurate to the Captain America canon, in terms of where each of the HYDRA facilities were located and when the Howling Commandos attacked them. For my sources I am using a combination of the Timeline here:[Link](https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/1940s) , and the map used in the movie, while also filling in the blanks myself here and there as well. I'm primarily using the Timeline. However, I did make a few adjustments. In my story, they attack the facility in Czechoslovakia in early December, 1943, instead of in February, 1944, and they attack the facility in France in late June 1944 (a couple weeks after the D-Day invasion), instead of in December, 1943. You guys probably don't care about that, but I thought I'd just clarify to be on the safe side. 
> 
> For the record, I know very little about guns and the military, especially during WWII, so I've been researching stuff for this story like a madwoman, and I tried to get as many things covered as I could. I wouldn't be surprised if a few things slipped through the cracks, though. 
> 
> Also, I named each of the chapters after Two Steps From Hell, Thomas Bergerson, or Nick Phoenix songs. Just thought I'd mention that.
> 
> Glossary:  
> Frenchie = Jaques Dernier's nickname  
> Fly the Coop = leave  
> Edgy = nervous  
> No Dice = No luck  
> Nada = Nothing  
> Bupkis = Nothing, zip
> 
> (I imagine most of these phrases are pretty clear already, but again, I wanted to be on the safe side)
> 
> OC Cast:  
> Isaac Verona - Brenton Thwaites  
> Major Mathis Pascal - Vincent Cassel 
> 
> (There are other OCs, but I haven't found faceclaims for them yet. I'll figure them out later)
> 
> Just a warning, I will no doubt be editing this quite a bit more in the future.

 

** In the forest north of Rhinau, France, along the Rhine River, October 4th, 1944 **

He had reached the peak of the slope, but that didn't mean it was all downhill from here.

Far from it, devastatingly enough.

He was nowhere near clear of danger yet. It would only be a matter of time before they realize he escaped. They'll come after him. They have ways of tracking him, and they're probably doing it right now. He sometimes wondered whether it was pointless for him to run, when he knew that they were most likely going to catch him anyway. But he refused to let going back be an option! He would rather die than go back! So any chance of escape he could give himself, even if it's a meager one, he would take it. 

His deep brown eyes scanned the terrain ahead of him. The slope downward was not terribly steep, so it was doable. There were trees jutting up from the underbrush in front of him, which could either be a blessing or a curse. On one hand, the trees could provide cover for him, with plenty of places for him to hide. But on the other hand, he was not familiar with the terrain, and his enemies most likely were. He didn't even know what country he was in! Was he still in France? Was he in Switzerland? Austria? Or was he all the way on the other side of Europe? He couldn't even begin to guess. That dark veil of simply _not knowing_ encased his soul. Plus, any advantage he might have could be canceled out if they had the resources necessary to track him, be it hounds, or....other, more unnatural means. No doubt venturing deeper into these woods would leave him a sitting duck. It was a risk, but it was one he was willing to take! He could not go back; it would be a fate worse than death itself!

He turned and looked behind him. The dim sunlight made the forest behind him seem to fade into a dark abyss he could barely see into beyond ten feet. Fear, hatred, and anxiety slithered coldly through his veins, in knowing that somewhere beyond that abyss rested the hellish establishment he had been held in.

Just the thought of that awful place sent his heart into a frantic tap-dance, injecting hot adrenaline through every vein of his body. He didn't want to think about it, or be anywhere near it, so he took off down the slope, hoping with all his might that he actually was creating some distance between himself and his former prison. This certainly wasn't helped by the fact that he wasn't very good with directions to begin with; he gotten himself lost many times before, and there is no doubt in his mind that he was hopelessly lost right now. But he kept running, not even bothering to stop and try to figure out where he might be.

The uneven ground and downward slope made keeping his footing a challenge, and on more than one occasion he came extremely close to tripping. His eyes were mainly cast downward, paying more attention to where his feet were going rather than what was in front of him. This proved to be a problem when he actually did look up, and his face came in hard contact with a bunch of thin branches, smacking him like whips. He practically fell on the ground with a cry of surprise and pain. The branches had left some small scratches around his mouth and caused blood to drip from his right nostril. He sniffed and wiped the blood away.

He hardly let this slow him down, and kept running until the slope transformed into more even earth. This time he was more conscientious of looking at what was ahead as well as where his feet were going. He kept hearing twigs snapping behind him, never really sure it was just the echo of the twigs he was stepping on or not. He looked behind himself, half expecting but deeply hoping that he wouldn't see people chasing him. He kept telling himself to just keep running and not look back. Nevertheless, the echoes of twigs, be them from him or some unseen pursuer, kept prompting him to look backward despite his logical mind telling him not to.

On one of these instances of him turning around to check for any enemies, he had the misfortune of not allowing himself to see the downward slope that suddenly materialized ahead of him, until his feet were greeted by the sudden dip of the ground. Before he knew it, he was falling forward, his heart dropping along with his body. Then, his body hit the ground hard, and continued to hit it repeatedly as he tumbled down the slope. Halfway down the slope, he reached out to stop himself by attempting to grab onto one of the trees in his path. This resulted in his shoulder slamming against the tree hard, causing him to cry out in pain. Despite this, he still succeeded in hooking his arms around the tree, stopping his fall. For a minute he stayed there, clinging to the tree and gritting his teeth with a groan as he waited for the pain in his shoulder to subside.

When it finally did, he slowly hoisted himself up, using the tree for support. Once on his feet, he slowly let go of the tree and allowed himself to secure his balance before letting gravity take control of his pace. He started down the hill, not necessarily running as it was fast shuffling. He felt relief when he finally made it to the bottom. He then winced when his shoulder started to hurt again. He rubbed his shoulder to try and ease the pain, only to discover that the impact with the tree had dislocated it. He took a deep breath as he wrapped his hand around his arm and pushed it back, crying out when he felt it pop back into its socket. He inhaled through his teeth, clutched his arm, and began walking forward, not even waiting until the pain had disappeared completely. He kept his eyes focusing straight ahead and fought the urge to look back.

He didn't end up walking very far before the thick blanket of trees he had been pushing his way through suddenly disappeared and he found himself in, what he at first believed to be a small clearing, or break in the trees. It took a second for his brain to realize that it was neither when he looked down and saw that he was standing on a dirt road.

He looked up and down the road, seeing that it stretched deep into the forest in both directions. He felt his heart beat increase with something that teetered between relief and fear. On one hand, following this road would be his best bet of finding his way out this forest, and limit his risk of going around in circles. On the other hand, there was no way of knowing whether this road was still being used, whether by enemy or ally. He would probably be taking a huge risk by following it. Then again, he was already at risk, whether he was in the forest or on the road. So, he decided that following the road would be his best option.

The clearing that the road provided a large enough break in the canopy of trees that he was able to see where the sun was. He might not have been all that good with directions, but he at least knew how to figure out where East and West were by watching where the sun was rising and setting. His sense of time may have been warped a bit and he wasn't quite sure what time of day it was, but he was pretty sure that the sun was setting. Yes, it was definitely setting.

"Let's see," he muttered to himself. "The sun rises in the East and sets in the West, So, if it's setting there," he pointed to where the sun was setting. "...then that way is North," he pointed up the road, "... and that way is South." He pointed down the road.

Alright, he got that figured out. But since he had no way of knowing which country he was in, and for that matter, where in said country he was, it was hard for him to know which way would lead him away from danger. After all, he hadn't really been paying much attention to which direction he was going when he was frantically running for his life. He could have been running around in spirals before stumbling upon this road. Trying to choose between the two directions was like having the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, and not knowing which choice would result in the thread breaking. One way, or the other, or both? He was risking his life making this choice. But again, his life was at risk no matter what.

"North it is, then," he said, inhaling long and hard, praying that God, or whoever was listening, would lead him out of danger as he turned and headed North up the dirt road.

 

** Outside Lyon, France, about an hour later. **

Bucky Barnes sat in a chair just outside the doorway of the communications tent, staring into the darkness that rested just beyond the lights of the camp, watching, waiting, and hoping to finally see those headlights piercing the abyss and bringing good news, bringing hope. His features were carved with a look of concern, worry, anxiousness, and desperation. His heart was somewhere between flying out of his rib-cage, and stopping dead mid-beat. He had lost count of how many times that spark of hope was ignited hot inside him, only to be dowsed by the devastation and disappointment found at the end of another empty, unsuccessful search. He wasn't sure if he could take that anymore. He was just about ready to give up, but he knew he couldn't, not when there was even the slightest chance of them finding him.

He couldn't abandon him now, not like he had before.

Tapping his foot into a frenzy, Bucky finally couldn't take it anymore and stood up, turning and walking through the canvas flap of the communications tent. He looked at the still barely familiar faces of the French soldiers who were hanging around the table in the right corner. There were three of them; two were sitting, the third was standing. They were chatting among themselves in French, but as soon as Bucky entered the tent their chatter stopped, and they all turned and looked at him. There was silence for a moment, and Bucky could feel the weight of their stares growing heavier on his shoulders. They all had the usual expression that had been painted on every French soldier's face for the last several months; there was no fondness in their eyes, but there wasn't any hatred either. It was more like quiet judgment, annoyance, and respect reluctantly given with a sardonic clench of the jaw. Bucky had no doubt that not just him, but all the Howling Commandos, Colonel Phillips, and those associated with them had been receiving that stare.

The French Resistance; Jacques Dernier's brothers in arms. The leader of this particular unit, Major Mathis Pascal had been gracious enough to allow the Commandos to reside with them while they completed their recent mission of taking down a HYDRA weapons facility just North-West of Reims. But that was supposed to be the extent of the deal. They were supposed to depart right after the mission was completed, not latch onto them for almost four more months and drag them all over Free France to search for a missing Private. If the French men had their way, they would have booted them out months ago and left them on their own. Unfortunately for them, they had no say in the matter. All they could do was slip on that sardonic stare and point it at all the Outsiders, as they called them. They only could point it at the Outsiders, because they were too scared to point it at Major Pascal, who was the real culprit responsible for their chagrin. He and Colonel Phillips had shared a drink and became pals during the short course of the mission. So, naturally, when Phillips discovered that he was short one man, Pascal was perfectly willing to let them stay for as long as they needed to find their missing soldier.

Mathis Pascal was a good man; far more good than any of his men wanted him to be at this point.

The French soldier's didn't let up with their stare, but Bucky had no desire to face it any longer. He broke his gaze and turned away, and that seemed to be enough of a hint for them. A second later they resumed their conversation. Bucky didn't really care what they were talking about, even if it might have been insults directed toward him. He instead looked at the much more familiar figure of Jim Morita sitting at a table in the opposite corner toying with the radio, his head wrapped up in headphones. He turned and nodded to Bucky as the latter walked over to him.

"Any word from them yet?" Bucky asked, trying desperately to keep his voice steady and not let it go off key, giving away the lump that had taken residence in his throat for the last several months.

"Nothing, Sarge," Morita replied, seeming to not notice the slight crack in Bucky's voice. He had no idea, no idea that Bucky was falling apart right next to him. With each minute, hour, day, week, _month_ that passed without any progress another piece of his soul chipped off and crumbled. "If the others find anything, even the smallest clue that might tell us where Isaac is, they will radio us."

"Dear God, I hope that comes soon," Bucky said quietly.

"Hey, don't worry, Barnes," Morita said, standing up and placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they'll find something soon. Don't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

 _It's a little more than that_ , Bucky said to himself; words that he never dared let out of his mouth. "Of course it's my fault!" he said instead. "I should have been looking after the kid," something he felt odd saying now, "Now he's God only knows where."

"There was nothing you could have done," Morita said. "It was far out of your hands. So there's no use in sweating it. In a way, we all blame ourselves for what happened. But beating ourselves up about it isn't going to get us anywhere. That's why right now, the best thing we can do for Isaac is keep looking for him and not give up."

"Oh, believe me, I have no intentions of giving up," Bucky replied.

"Me neither!" Morita agreed. "None of us have any intention of giving up on him."

Bucky looked at him. "Be honest with me, Morita. Do you really believe he is still alive?"

Morita stared at him for a moment. "Do you?"

"Without a doubt," Bucky said, without even skipping a beat.

"Even after almost four months of searching without any clues to tell us where he is?"

Bucky inhaled. "It may sound completely crazy, but yes, I do. I don't think he's dead. He's still alive, I can feel it." Bucky saw Morita cock an eyebrow, and realized how his words sounded. He straightened up. "I just have a feeling in my gut, you know." _Nice save,_ he thought to himself

Morita seemed satisfied with that. "Well, at least you seem pretty sure, because I gotta be honest, Sarge, I'm not." Bucky's brow furrowed at that remark. "I mean, I want to believe he's still alive, really, I do," Morita continued. "...but I just don't know. He could be six feet under by now, for all we know. Without anything to tell us, we can only guess what state he's in. But there is one thing I do know, and that's that I don't want to quit looking until we find the truth of what happened to him, whether we find him alive or dead. I just want some closure, that's all."

Bucky lowered his eyes, but said nothing. He realized that in the end, that was all he wanted as well. Closure. Just to know the truth, because the _not knowing_ was driving him insane; chewing up his dreams and regurgitating anxiety-ridden nightmares. Either that or it swallows them altogether, along with his ability to sleep at all. Although his optimistic idealist self kept insisting that Isaac was still alive, it constantly butted heads with his logical realist self. No matter how much the former succeeded in beating down the latter by sheer will, its opponent always found a way to get back up, reminding him with gut twisting honesty about how reality works. This was not some hero story where the good guys always won; this was WAR!

People die in war....

There it goes again; the Realist has staggered to its feet.

Bucky gulps his heart back down into his chest, almost choking as it seemed to scrape against his tongue on the way down, which felt as rough as a dehydrated sponge sitting in his mouth. He tried to will himself to beat the opponent back down to the ground, to convince himself once again that Isaac was strong, he was a survivor, and he was alive, hopefully hiding somewhere, waiting for them to come find him. He had endured tortures just as Bucky himself had; whatever he was going through now couldn't be as bad as that. He hoped.

But one thing he was sure of was that if they found Isaac alive (which they would, the Optimist said), Bucky would hold onto him and never let go. He didn't care if anyone saw. He didn't care if everyone knew the truth. He'd happily face the guns if it meant having Isaac back alive and in his arms again. Was that selfish? Probably. But it did not matter to him at this point. After four months of a hell worse than the war itself, he deserved to be a little selfish.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by the stab of headlights briefly passing by the crack in the tent entrance and the distant rumble of, not one, but two car engines; a sound that could either bring hope, or more devastation.

"They're back," Bucky said, his tone seeming to reflect both the conflicting voices in his head.

Jim Morita turned his head at the sound of the car engines, as did the three French soldiers, who, up till now, had been chatting among themselves in their native language (or at least pretending to be.) But their reactions were a second slower than Bucky's, who was already heading for the exit before they had even processed what was happening.

"They didn't radio us, Sarge," Morita said. "That's not a good sign."

His voice was an echo in Bucky's ears, barely being registered. Blow by blow, the Optimist beat down the Realist with each racing thump of his equal parts scared and hopeful heart. Perhaps their radio wasn't working. Perhaps they forgot to use the radio. Maybe they found something that would lead them to Isaac that couldn't be explained over the radio. Maybe, they even found Isaac, but he was injured and they were so preoccupied with that that they didn't even think about using the radio.

Thoughts of that kind, as well as those on the opposite end of the spectrum, flip flopped in his head. The faint sound of Morita's footsteps following after him was barely audible in his ears, and was soon joined by the footsteps of the three French soldiers, along with multiple others. He eventually willed himself to turn and saw that, not only had he been joined by Morita and the three French soldiers, but by Major Pascal, Colonel Phillips, Peggy Carter, James Falsworth, and the rest of the French soldiers in the unit, all of them gathering to see what news the last of the search party brought.

Steve and Dugan sat in the front seats of one of the vehicles, with a couple French soldiers sitting in the back. Gabe Jones and Jacques Dernier occupied the other vehicle along with a few French soldiers as well. They had just spent the day in Lyon, looking and asking around to see if anyone knew anything, or could at least lead them to someone who did, while Bucky, Peggy, Falsworth, and a small handful of French soldiers spent the day asking around the villages surrounding the city.

That's what their searching had been like for the last few months; from city to city, village to village in liberated France they went, looking for a word, or even interrogating any HYDRA soldiers that were being held captive in the now freed cities. They even assisted in the liberation of Paris a couple months earlier in August. Same routine then. Once the city was free they started interrogating all the HYDRA and even Nazi soldiers to see if they knew anything. They found nothing. Or at least nothing that the enemy soldiers were willing to tell. That was probably when Pascal's men would have wanted to break off from the Howling Commandos, and join their brothers in the liberation of more French cities. But of course, what they wanted was not what they got, as Pascal decided that the Outsiders needed their help more than the rest of the Resistance did.

The cars groaned to a halt, and Bucky didn't waste a second. He quickly approached the car Steve was situated in.

"Did you find anything? Anything at all?" Bucky said, only just barely noticing that he may have said that a little too quickly. He knew how that made him sound, but he wasn't sure whether he was really worried about that right now. But he did almost feel grateful when he felt someone move up beside him, and heard Peggy's voice inquiring the same thing.

"Any luck?" she asked.

Steve sighed and removed his helmet. Even in the near darkness Bucky could still read his friend's expression clearly, and got his answer right away; there was no optimism or triumph on Steve's face, just exhaustion, discouragement, and disappointment. Bucky's heart was already falling at high speed before Steve even started speaking.

"No," Steve said simply, completing the fall and sending Bucky's heart shattering on impact with the ground once again. "We asked all over pretty much the entire East side of the city."

"Yeah, and we found nothing that might tell us where Hermes is!" Dugan interjected, removing his bowler and whacking it against the dashboard. There was clear growl locked behind his teeth, heavily implying the frustration and anger he was trying to push down. "Nothing! Nada! If anyone does know anything, they're not talking for some reason. I mean, their city is liberated now. What would they be afraid of?"

"You know Isaac hates it when you call him Hermes," Bucky reminded, a little more harshly than he intended.

"Yeah, well it's not like he's really around right now to complain," Dugan retorted.

"Hey, hey," Steve said, reclaiming the conversation before Bucky could respond. "It's been a long day, and we are all exhausted, alright fellas?" He looked at Bucky. "We only covered a part of the East side. Tomorrow, we'll cover the rest. Maybe then, we'll find something." It was an empty promise, one that Steve had made many times in the last four months. But Bucky knew it was all Steve could do to reassure him, and placate him.

"What about Gabe and Frenchie?" Bucky asked. "Did they find anything?"

"You'll have to ask them," Steve replied. Before he could really say anything else, Bucky was already moving toward the other car.

"Did you fellas find anything?" Bucky asked Gabe and Dernier before he had really gotten to the car yet.

Gabe shook his head. "Sorry, Barnes," he said with a sigh. "Our search was the same as it's always been; dry as a desert." Just when Bucky thought his heart couldn't shatter anymore. Gabe turned to Dernier. "I never really asked you if you found anything that might help."

Dernier's eyebrows locked together, and he just looked at Gabe as if confused, or trying to process what Gabe had just said. Gabe sighed then said something in French, which Bucky guessed was him repeating the question in a language that Dernier knew better. Before the sentence was even finished, Dernier's eyebrows shot up in understanding.

"Well, actually...." he started, before stopping.

His eyebrows locked together again, and his eyes drifted to the sky, as if he was trying to look inside his head and find the words he needed. English was a struggle for him. Gabe was in the process of trying to teach him. But like most people learning a new language, he had a hard time remembering how to pronounce things, and which order they go in. Thankfully, he had a very patient teacher. After a moment of searching, Dernier gave up and turned to Gabe, speaking in his native language instead. Once finished, Gabe gave him a confused expression, then asked another question in French, which Dernier then seemed to answer.

"Well, what's going on?" Bucky asked after they were done. He really hated being left out of conversations. This must be how Dernier felt. No wonder why he wanted to learn English.

"He said that there was this older man working at a bar who seemed like he wanted to say something, but chose not to," Gabe told Bucky. "He said the reason why he didn't tell me was because he didn't think anything of it until now."

Just then, Dernier tapped Gabe on the shoulder. "Tomorrow," Dernier said. Gabe asked him a question in French, which Dernier nodded to.

"He wants to go back and question that man tomorrow when we resume the search," Gabe said.

"That sounds like a good idea." Bucky jumped at the sound of Steve's voice right next to his ear, and turned to see that his friend had appeared next to him.

"Captain Rogers is right," Major Pascal said, his voice rippling with a soft French accent. The guy was fairly quiet, but when he spoke, it was a treat for the ears. Yes, even when he was yelling. "We've all had a long day, and sleep will do us all good. We'll continue our search in the morning." He then shouted to his men in French, and was answered with a collective groan; the same song they had been singing in unison for months. Well, almost.

Bucky noticed that there was one French soldier who didn't join in with the song, or more appropriately, sang a different tune. Instead of a groan, he answered the Major with an accepting nod. A second later, his eyes caught Bucky's gaze. Whiskey colored eyes, contrasted against sun tanned skin and dirty blonde hair, seemed to regard him with understanding and compassion momentarily, before turning toward Major Pascal again. Bucky recalled seeing that guy around. He was probably the only French soldier, beside the Major, of course, who didn't wear that judging, sardonic stare, although he did see him wearing a look of disappointment and exasperation whenever a search came up empty. The soldier standing next to him, who did release a groan with the others, bore a strong resemblance to Whiskey Eyes, most likely his brother; whether younger or older, Bucky couldn't tell, nor could he tell how old the two of them were.

Once everyone began to disperse, Bucky felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Steve looking at him with a soft yet sad expression. "Get some sleep, Buck," he said. "You look like you could really use it."

"Believe me, Captain, we all do," Falsworth said as he passed by them.

Steve didn't say anything else, and just patted Bucky's shoulder as he turned and headed for his tent. For a moment, Bucky just stood there before finally finding the will and energy to begin his slow trek to his own tent. It was easy for Steve to tell him to get some sleep; far easier for Steve to say than it was for Bucky to do. He wished that going to sleep was as easy for him as simply just closing his eyes. It used to be so easy, but that stopped four months ago. He'll be lucky if he can get a few hours.

When he finally got inside his tent, he sat down on his cot and just stared ahead for a moment. This was one of those times when he was really thankful that they were all given their own tents, and didn't have to share with anyone. It gave him the privacy he needed to be alone with his thoughts. He then turned and reached under his pillow, pulling something out from under it. He stared at the object that was now in his hands. It was a hat; a grey newsboy cap. Isaac's hat. He said it belonged to his grandfather. He never wore that hat during missions, just during his down time. He always swapped out that hat for his helmet when he went on a mission. He had left it in his tent when they went on that mission four months ago. Isaac was so fond of that cap.

Bucky ran his hand over the grey fabric, smiling slightly as he thought of how Isaac always wore it slightly askew, which looked ridiculous and adorable at the same time. Without even really thinking about it, Bucky buried his face into the cap, hoping to catch even the slightest scent of him. There was still some there. He wasn't sure whether that comforted him, or made his heart ache even more. Both, maybe? Yeah, definitely both. Pulling back, Bucky then reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog tags. Actually, there were two; his dog tags, and Isaac's. He pulled Isaac's dog tags off of his neck and looked at them, running his thumb across the letters that made up the man's name. These were all they had found of him after that fateful mission; the only trace that was left. Nothing else, not even the slightest evidence of a body.

Bucky stared blankly at the dog tags, his mind replaying that mission, and how it went down. How the man he loved had disappeared.

 

** 4 Months Earlier, outside Reims **

_Steve laid the map down on the hood of the vehicle, showing an aerial view of the layout of the area surrounding the weapons facility. The Howling Commandos, plus all of the men in Major Pascal's unit, were gathered around the vehicle, as expected, to learn what was planned to take down the factory. Pascal's men had enthusiastically agreed to participate in the mission, for it was, to them, the next step before the liberation of Paris._

_"Alright," Steve said. "The entrance is on the North side, here." He pointed to the location. "That's where we'll enter. We'll create enough of a distraction to allow Gabe and Dernier to slip down into the engine rooms to plant the charges. Does that work for you?" he asked Major Pascal. The Major nodded. Steve nodded back, and then looked at Gabe and Dernier. "Just make sure you spread those charges out far apart." Gabe relayed the orders to Dernier in French, after which they both nodded in affirmation. “This factory is quite a bit bigger than the others. Also, we'll need a couple people to head up to the upper levels. Morita was able to intercept HYDRA's communications to the factory. It appears as though one of Dr. Zola's colleagues is overseeing operations there; a Japanese geneticist named Manato Oshiro."_

_Isaac was standing next to Bucky on the other side of the hood, and upon hearing that name, his whole body visibly jerked. Bucky, of course, was the first to notice, and his action of turning his head to look at Isaac was immediately followed by everyone else._

_"Are you all right?" he asked._

_Isaac didn't answer him, or even look at him. His eyes remained completely fixed on Steve. "Did you say Oshiro?" he asked. There was the unmistakable sting of venom on his tongue, and his eyes flashed with a freshly ignited spark._

_"Yes," Steve replied. "Do you know him?"_

_Everyone present saw Isaac grit his teeth before answering. "Damn right I know him!" he said, the growl in his voice becoming audible. "He was the bastard who had me strapped to a table back in Austria; the bastard who tortured me!" This remark drew stunned expressions from everyone present, some of them even responded to the sneer on Isaac's lips with sneers of their own. "You say Oshiro is in that factory right now?" the young soldier continued._

_Steve nodded. "Yes. And I want someone to find him and take him into custody. I think the good doctor will have some valuable information to give us, which may take some persuading to get out of him."_

_"I'll do it," Isaac said. Everyone looked at him with knitted or raised eyebrows. "I'll be happy to retrieve Oshiro."_

_"Are you sure?" Steve asked._

_"The guy tortured me for hours," Isaac replied. "I want to be the one to bring him down."_

_"I'll go with you," Bucky said. Isaac looked at him, and the two men exchanged a tender expression of reassurance, which thankfully went unnoticed by everyone else._

_"OK," Steve said after a pause. "Oshiro is residing somewhere on the second floor, so you two are going to have to look around a bit. Good luck."_

_Bucky and Isaac nodded as the latter put his helmet on once Steve started packing up the map. Major Pascal relayed the plans to all the soldiers of his unit who did not know English. Once everyone was ready, they got into the vehicles and headed off to the facility._

~

_The first part of the mission went smoothly. Steve led everyone through the front doors of the facility, guns all ablaze. In the midst of the shouting, shooting, and hand-to-hand combat they were engaged in with the HYDRA soldiers that had met their advance, Steve turned and gave a signal to Gabe and Dernier to head down to the engine rooms, then gave a signal to Bucky and Isaac to head to the upper levels. They both nodded in affirmation right before Isaac swung his M1941 Johnson rifle and smacked a HYDRA soldier in the face with the butt of it. The two of them then headed for the stairs on the West side, firing at any HYDRA soldier who spotted them before disappearing behind the first cast iron door they came upon. Behind that door, they found themselves in a long hallway that stretched in two opposite direction._

_"OK, Steve said we were going to have to look around a bit. So which way should we go?" Isaac said. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." he said, pointing back and forth, before his finger landed, pointing left. "Let's go that way."_

_"Oh no," Bucky said. "You're terrible with directions, so I don't trust you. We're no doubt gonna get lost if we go that way." His words, though criticizing, were said with a playful, joking tone._

_Isaac smirked. "Tell you what; if I end up being wrong, I'll buy you a drink later."_

_"How about dinner and movie instead?" Bucky replied._

_"Then we'll see where the night takes us?"_

_"You got it!"_

_"Sounds good to me, doll," Isaac said, winking flirtatiously, sending heat to Bucky's ears._

_Bucky would never admit it out loud, but he loved it when Isaac called him doll, even thought it was a term used for women. Had it been coming from any other man, he no doubt would have hated it and would have protested against it constantly. But Isaac was not just any other man. He was the only exception. He could call Bucky any kind of pet name, no matter how embarrassing, and it would still send electricity through every nerve of his body, in the best possible way. But he was still glad that these kinds of affectionate exchanges remained exclusively between the two of them, for so many reasons._

_"In all seriousness, though," Isaac went on. "You should really choose which way we go, because I don't trust myself either."_

_Bucky chuckled at that, and then looked back and forth before pointing to the right. "Let's go this way."_

_The other soldier didn't protest and followed Bucky as he led him down the hallway. Eventually, that hallway ended and turned right into another hallway lined with pale brick. It looked like it stretched on for a while._

**_"Bucky. Isaac. Do you read?"_ **

_The suddenness of Steve's voice in his ear made Isaac jump slightly. He didn't think he would ever get used to these compact radio receivers you can just stick your ear. Although they were convenient and saved up on space that would have been taken up by bigger, bulkier radios, it was still a little creepy having other people's voices in his ear. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to thank Howard Stark for inventing them or not._

_"We read you, Steve," Bucky answered._

**_"OK, good. We were able to retrieve Dr. Oshiro's location. He is located in the primary offices on the South-East side of the factory."_ **

_"Gotcha, Cap," Isaac replied. "We're on our way." The call ended. Isaac looked at Bucky. “Well, looks like we’re going in the right direction. That’s why we’re better off when you choose which direction we go. Looks like I owe you that drink for being wrong, huh?”_

_“Yeah, dinner and a movie, too,” Bucky replied. “You better not back out on me.”_

_Isaac responded with a theatrical shrug. “It’s a date,” he announced, causing Bucky the laugh._

_The two soldiers continued on their way down the hallway, keeping their feet quiet and senses alert. Eventually the hallway curved slightly to the right, and the walls were soon lined with many doors. Both the men stopped when they heard the sound of multiple people running in their direction. Bucky instinctively reached back and placed his hand on Isaac's chest, forcing them both under the arch of the nearest door as a crowd of five or six HYDRA soldiers ran by, no doubt to join their comrades in fighting the Commandos. Thankfully, the shadows the arch provided helped keep the two men hidden, so the HYDRA soldiers ran right past them without seeing them. Once the coast was clear, they continued down the hallway, keeping their eyes on the signs of the doors. Eventually, they came across a sign, not on a door but on the wall itself, which had a large arrow pointing farther down the hallway that read:_

**_~BUREAU PRIMAIRE~_ **

_Yep, they were definitely on the right track. Isaac’s heart thumped hard as he thought about the man who might be waiting for them in the room on the end. They both raised their guns and cautiously proceeded forward. They passed another arrow on the wall pointing toward the primary offices, their steps becoming softer and more cautious the closer they got. After a while, the hallway ended and turned right into a large room without a door. The two men paused and listened. There didn't appear to be any sound of activity in there, but they cautiously proceeded with their guns raised nonetheless. They paused for a moment when they came to the edge of the door. Then Bucky gave a signal to Isaac and they both moved into the room, lowering their guns as soon as they did._

_The room was large and long, with a three big panes of glass on the left wall, which appeared to look out into another part of the factory. Against the other wall there were several large radios and computers, a map hanging in a frame, a couple long metal desks with several chairs, and a bunch of filing cabinets. On the far end of the room there was automatic door constructed out of solid steel._

_But, other than Bucky and Isaac, there were no people in the room._

_"Damn it!" Isaac muttered under his breath._

_Bucky looked at him with a sigh, and then activated his radio. “Steve, you there?"_

**_"I hear you, Buck,"_ ** _came Steve's voice on the other end._

_"Private Verona and I have arrived in the primary office, but Oshiro is nowhere to be found. He must have seen us coming and decided to fly the coop. Looks like he cleaned this place out in the process, too. Clearly didn't want us finding anything important."_

**_"Nevertheless, you better take a look around. They might have left something behind we could use."_ ** _Bucky looked at Isaac, who nodded and started sifting through the filing cabinets. **"Then when you're done, sweep the surrounding areas and see if you can locate Oshiro. There still a chance that he didn't get very far."**_

_"Got it, Steve," Bucky said, before turning his radio off. "Find anything?" he asked the other soldier._

_"_ _So far, bupkis," Isaac answered. "It looks like these cabinets have been pretty much picked clean. They definitely didn't want us finding anything."_

_"Well, keep looking, just in case," Bucky said. Isaac nodded, and kept sifting through the cabinets while Bucky kept his eyes on the door. He then turned his head and looked out the three giant glass panes and saw that it overlooked the main floor of the factory. On the far end, he could see the commotion caused by the Commandos. "Looks like the Doc had one Hell of a view," he commented._

_"Explains how he was able to see us coming," Isaac said, still focused on sifting through the cabinets. "He had front row seats to the show."_

_"Yeah, and the distance gave him more than enough time to clean things up, turn on his tail and run."_

_"Gutless rat," Isaac muttered. Nevertheless, he kept sifting through the cabinets. When that came up empty, he sighed and looked up, his eyes landing on the map on the wall. It showed the layout of the facility, complete with all the passageways and tunnels. As he stared at the map, he noticed something that confused him. "That doesn't make any sense," he said._

_"What?" Bucky asked._

_"According to that map, this facility doesn't have a laboratory."_

_"So?"_

_"So what is Oshiro, a Japanese geneticist and bio-engineer, even doing here when there's no lab, in a French facility, no doubt?"_

_Bucky shrugged. "Perhaps Schmidt demoted him because he hates him?"_

_Isaac scoffed bitterly. "Well, he wouldn't be the first person, would he?" Bucky nodded and Isaac went back to looking around, now moving to the drawers of the desks. They were big deep drawers, and they also appeared to be pretty much empty. Suddenly, his eyes were caught by something wedged in the far back of the middle drawer._

_"Wait, wait! I think I found something!" He reached in and pulled out a leather bound journal with a blue cover. He opened it and was immediately greeted by Dr. Oshiro's name on the inside cover. He flipped through it quickly and let out a laugh. "Jackpot!" He stood and placed the journal on the table. Bucky ran over to see what he had discovered. "It's Oshiro's journal!" he exclaimed. "No doubt he wrote some very important information that could really help us!"_

_"Good job, darling," Bucky said, affectionately kissing Isaac on the cheek, which he let him do. In fact, Isaac did one better, and turned his head, meeting Bucky's lips with his own for a momentary kiss. There was no one else around at the moment, no judging eyes to see, so they were free to do it._

_"Thanks," Isaac said after pulling away. "There's just one little problem." In response to Bucky's questioning look, he opened the journal to reveal that all the writing inside was in Japanese. "I don't suppose that you know Japanese?"_

_"Sorry," Bucky responded, causing Isaac to sigh. "We'll just have to find someone later who can translate this." He looked down at the journal. "What I don't get is why Oshiro left this here. It obviously is very important, so why leave it behind?"_

_"No doubt he was in such a rush to get out he just forgot," Isaac suggested._

_"Still, it seems kind of-"_

_Bucky's words were cut off when the sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention to the door they had entered through just as four or five HYDRA soldiers came running in. As soon they saw the two soldiers, one of them (a man who almost looked like a scrawnier, sicklier version of Dugan) gave a shout in French and the others immediately pulled out their guns._

_"Look out!" Bucky shouted, shoving Isaac behind the desk and pulling out his gun right as the shooting started, the other men running for cover behind the nearest computer, table, or cabinet. Meanwhile, Isaac moved the desk he was behind until it was right in from of both him and Bucky before flipping it on its side to use as cover. Bucky quickly ducked behind the desk, and started reloading his gun._

_"Quite a welcoming committee, huh?" he jabbed._

_"No kidding," Isaac replied, placing the journal on the floor as he prepared his rifle. "They're really pulling out all the stops to ensure we feel right at home. How sweet of them."_

_Any attempt at a witty comeback from Bucky went right out the window when one of the soldiers fired his gun and hit the desk right next to Bucky's ears, causing him to jump. Both he and Isaac responded by firing their gun at the HYDRA soldiers, one bullet even hitting the guy who fired the first shot in the shoulder. The shootout went on like that for several more minutes, with no one succeeding in hitting anyone on the other side. Unfortunately things got a little bit worse with the arrival of two more HYDRA soldiers, who joined their comrades in the shootout. Seeing the increase in opponents, Bucky and Isaac ducked back down behind the desk._

_"Great, now we're even more outnumbered than we already were," Isaac said. "We'll only last so long against all of them. Unless we get our tails out of here, our goose will be cooked."_

_"Well then, it looks like we don't have any other option," Bucky said, both him and Isaac turning and looking at the steel door several yards behind them, now their only escape route._

_"I'll cover you," Isaac said, gently taking Bucky's hand into his own. He gave Bucky a soft, reassuring smile, which Bucky returned._

_"I don't doubt that," he said, putting his free hand on Isaac's cheek and giving him a split-second kiss on the lips. He pulled back, looking the other man deep in the eyes._

_"Now go!" Isaac said._

_Bucky nodded then leaped off the ground and ran for the door while Isaac pointed his gun at the HYDRA soldiers on the other side of the room, firing at any of them who even dared to try shooting at Bucky. Upon reaching the door, Bucky began working on pulling down the lever which controlled the door, which took some effort since it didn't appear to have been used that often. Eventually he succeeded in getting the darn thing down, opening the door. The door had two layers to it; the first was the steel door which opened sideways, moving to the right, and the other was an iron cage-like door with criss-crossed bars that opened side-wise as well, moving to the left instead. Once it opened, he quickly ran through it and took cover against the wall around the corner._

_"Come on!" he shouted, signaling at Isaac to follow him._

_Isaac continued firing his gun at the enemy soldiers as he stood and started moving for the door, never taking his eyes off of the opponents until after taking a few steps and turning to run for the door. Halfway there, he stopped in his tracks, his heart dropping for a split-second before turning on his heels again._

_"Wait, the journal!" he shouted as he ran back to the desk and grabbed Oshiro's journal, which he had accidentally left on the floor._

_"Isaac!" Bucky shouted._

_Isaac looked up just in time to see that his complete concentration on the journal had given one HYDRA soldier more than time to lift his weapon and fire in his direction. He ducked behind the desk and thankfully did succeed in avoiding being hit by the bullet. However, that one shot, that one fateful shot, went over his head and instead hit the lever of the door, causing it to spark and pop. This resulted in, not the steel door, but the cage-like door slamming shut before Bucky had a chance to react, trapping him on the outside and Isaac on the inside._

_Isaac looked back just in time to see the door close, his eyes widening in alarm. But he quickly turned his attention back to the enemy soldiers, who had seen the door closing as their chance to fire a barrage of bullets at him. Hardly having a chance to fire his own weapon, Isaac had no choice but to duck behind the desk, covering his head. From where he was, Bucky tried firing his weapon through the bars of the door, but that ultimately lead to the soldiers instead turning all their fire power on him, forcing him to take cover as well. The gun fire went on for a couple more minutes, the soldiers refusing to stop despite the fact that neither of their enemies was making an effort to fire back at the moment. In the midst of the gunfire, Isaac reached into his coat and pulled out a grenade, looking at it for a moment._

_"Sorry, Frenchie," he whispered. "But this is definitely an emergency!"_

_He paused, waiting for a lull in the shooting. It finally came after one of the HYDRA soldiers (the Dugan look-alike, no doubt) shouted in French, causing the other to cease their fire. Now was his chance! Isaac looked up, making eye contact with Bucky from around the corner, whose eyes widened when he spotted the grenade. Still keeping eye contact with Bucky, Isaac pulled the pin out of the grenade with his teeth, spit it out, and threw the grenade half blindly in the direction of the enemy soldiers. Both he and Bucky then ducked behind their respective covers. Upon seeing the grenade, the Dugan look-alike shouted at the others to take cover, some of whom were unable to make it in time before the grenade went off. Bucky and Isaac remained tucked tightly behind their covers as the blast from the grenade ripped through the room, the vibration of it felt by both of them, rattling their hearts in their ribs._

_Even after the blast was over, neither soldier moved from their spots, as if they feared that there would be another explosion should they let their guard down. Finally, it was Isaac who sprouted the courage and curiosity to peak over the desk and inspect the damage. From what he saw, most, if not all the soldiers were now lying either dead or unconscious on the floor. For a moment he didn't move a muscle._

_Suddenly, one of the soldiers, the Dugan look-alike, staggered to his feet, and upon seeing his fallen comrades, turned and retreated out the door. Isaac was still recovering from the blast of the grenade that he didn't allow himself enough time to reload his gun and fire it before the soldier had already disappeared through the door. Seeing that the soldier was already gone, he lowered his gun, staring in shock at the bodies of the other HYDRA soldiers for a moment. Why did this bother him? It's not like he hasn't killed before. It’s not like they haven’t blown things up before. Of course, how many times had he had the privilege of seeing the carnage left behind by those explosions?_

_Inhaling deeply, he tucked the journal safely inside his coat and turned his eyes away from the bodies on the ground, making his way over to the door where Bucky was standing on the other side, looking at him._

_“Where the hell did you get that grenade?” he asked._

_“Frenchie gave it to me,” Isaac answered. “He said to only use it for emergencies.”_

_“Well, good call, then.”_

_Isaac nodded then cast his eyes to the door itself, which was still closed tight. “Have you tried prying the door open?” he asked._

_“Yes,” Bucky replied. “It won’t budge. There’s a lever on the wall next to you that controls the door, try that.”_

_Isaac turned and approached the lever on the wall. His heart sank a bit when he saw how mangled it looked after being hit by that bullet, but nevertheless grabbed what he could of the handle and tried moving it. Suddenly, the lever sparked, causing Isaac to withdraw his hand with a cry of pain._

_“You all right?” Bucky asked._

_“Yeah, I’m fine,” Isaac answered, sucking the spot on his hand that got hurt before flicking his wrist a couple times and approaching the lever again. He grabbed the lever once more and attempted to push it up, trying his best to ignore the pain caused by the sparks. Suddenly, the lever completely snapped off, its damaged base no longer able to hold the pressure the young soldier has applying._

_“Goddamnit!” Isaac cursed, turning and showing the broken lever to Bucky. “It’s no use; the controls have been completely destroyed! Are there controls on your side?”_

_“No,” Bucky said. “We’ll just have to see if we can open the door ourselves.”_

_Isaac nodded, and on the count of three the two of them tried pushing the door sideways to get it to open, using every bit of strength they could. After a minute they stopped and tried again, but the door wouldn’t move._

_“This isn’t working,” Isaac said. “It must have an automatic seal on it.”_

_“Well, we’re just going to have to keep trying,” Bucky said, preparing to push on the door again. However, Isaac didn’t join him and instead walked up to the map on the wall, his eyes scanning it for a minute. “What are you doing?” Bucky asked._

_Isaac didn’t answer right away and instead kept looking at the map. Finally, he turned and came back to the door._ _“OK,” he said. “According to the map, the hallway you’re in leads to a stairway that turns and heads to an exit that will lead you right in the direction of the rendezvous point. Just keep going down that way until you find it.”_

_Bucky looked down the hallway then back at Isaac. “What about you?”_

_“I’m going to double back the way we came,” Isaac replied. “The map says there is a door down the hall that leads to the engine rooms. I’ll meet up with Gabe and Frenchie there.”_

_Bucky shook his head. “You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m just gonna walk away and leave you! We just need to try harder to get this damn door open.” He started pushing on the door again._

_“Bucky, it’s pointless,” Isaac said. “The door just won’t open, even with two of us.”_

_“Then we’ll just keep trying until it does,” Bucky said stubbornly. “I’m not leaving without you.”_

_“Bucky, please…”_

_“No!” Bucky said. “We are leaving together and that’s final! I just gotta…” He kept pushing on the door with every ounce of strength he had._

_“James.”_

_Bucky froze, hearing Isaac address him by his real name. He only ever did that during intimate or serious moments. Very slowly, Bucky raised his head and looked Isaac right in the eyes, taking his time before finally meeting his gaze. Isaac looked back at him, his eyes soft and covered with a veil of reassurance._

_“You know as well as I do that the door is not going to open,” Isaac said. “No matter how much muscle we put into it.”_

_Bucky let out a defeated sigh. “I just...I don’t want to leave you.”_

_Isaac gave him a shaky half-smile. “I know you don’t. But we really don’t have any other option. This is the only chance either of us has at getting out of here.” He tilted his head forward, giving Bucky another, steadier smile, although there was still an undertone of uncertainty. “Everything will be alright. I promise.”_

_“Just…” Bucky said earnestly, looking up at Isaac sharply. “Just promise me you’ll be outside. Promise me that you will make it out, and that we’ll see each other again.”_

_Isaac nodded. “I promise. I’ll meet you out there. I have to. I still owe you that drink, remember?”_

_This pulled a breathy chuckle from Bucky. “Don’t forget dinner and a movie too.”_

_Isaac responded with an almost theatrical shrug. “Yep, and we’ll just let the night take us from there. Do you really think I’d miss that, doll?”_

_Bucky smirked “No, of course not. When you make a date, you always keep it.”_

_“And I definitely will keep this one,” Isaac replied, his mannerisms sobering up a bit. “But neither of us are going to be able to make it if we don’t get out of here on the double. Which means we both gotta get going.”_

_“Right,” Bucky said, himself also sobering up. He looked back up at Isaac, not even caring if his eyes betrayed his worry and uncertainty. “Just...be out there, OK? Be safe.”_

_“I will,” Isaac replied._

_There was pause after that, as both men could no longer think of what to say but wanted to prolong their separation as much as they could. Without even really knowing why, Isaac reached forward and wrapped his right hand around one of the bars of the door, his eyes still resting on Bucky. His eyebrows raised in the other man’s direction, almost inquiring; an invitation. An invitation that Bucky saw, understood, and answered by placing his hand over Isaac’s hand on the bar, the two of them adjusting their grasps until their fingers were entwined more comfortably. They stayed that way for a while, their hands clasping through the bars. Unfortunately, the spaces between the bars were too small for them to have any other physical contact beyond that. If there was enough space, they would no doubt be kissing by now. But this was as close as they could get. That didn’t stop them from trying a little more._

_Not wanting to leave just yet, Bucky moved closer to the bars and pressed his forehead against them, feeling satisfaction when Isaac did the exact same thing, the skin of his forehead just barely making contact with Bucky’s through the bars. There was another pause, neither of them wanting to move away._

_“I love you,” Bucky said quietly after a moment of silence, knowing that these were words he needed to say, just in case._

_Isaac seemed almost startled by those words. He wasn’t sure why; it most certainly wasn’t the first time Bucky had said them to him. But in this exact situation, it seemed odd to hear them. Nevertheless, Isaac felt, as Bucky had, that they were the right words._

_“I love you too,” Isaac replied, sending them both into another pause, this one lasting only half a minute._

_Neither of them wanted to leave yet, despite knowing that they needed to. Of the two of them, it was Isaac who found the will to move first, backing away from the bars and gently pulling his hand out of Bucky’s grasp, leaving them both feeling oddly cold at the sudden loss of contact._

_“Go,” Isaac said. “I promise, I’ll meet you out there.”_

_“You better,” Bucky said. “If you don’t I’ll kill you.”_

_This time, it was Isaac who released a breathy chuckle. “Take care of yourself, doll.”_

_“You too, my love.”_

_In response, Isaac gave Bucky another shaky half smile. Bucky smiled in the exact same manner before reluctantly turning and walking away from the door down the hallway. He stopped some ways down the hall before turning and looking back at Isaac, who was still watching him through the bars. Isaac gave Bucky a reassuring smile, urging him on. Bucky nodded slowly then turned, continuing down the hallway, taking a moment mid-way to contact Steve and inform him of the situation._

_~_

_Isaac was right; the hallway lead directly to where he said it would. In a matter of minutes Bucky approached the door leading outside. He opened the door and found himself surrounded by the warm, late afternoon June air. He inhaled deeply, praying quietly that Isaac and everyone else would be able to do the same soon._

**_“Bucky, can you hear me?”_ **

_The stillness of the air around him made the sudden sound of Isaac’s static voice over the radio sharp and startling, but not wholly unwelcome. Still, Bucky was beginning to agree with Isaac about whether he liked these devices or not._

_“Isaac, what’s going on?” Bucky asked. “Is everything all right?”_

**_“Well, I’m alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Either that or I’m calling you from beyond the grave, which I highly doubt.”_ ** _Isaac replied, causing Bucky to let out a chuckle. “ **I haven’t run into any trouble yet. Not big trouble, anyway. Basically, I’ve tried contacting Gabe and Frenchie on the radio to let them know I’m coming, but they’re not answering. Do you think you can give it a go?”**_

_“I can try,” Bucky replied._

**_“Thanks.”_ **

_”Gabe. Frenchie. Do you read?” Bucky said through his radio. “Verona and I have been separated. I’m outside the factory right now, and he says he’s going to head down to the engine rooms to rendezvous with you. Did you receive his message?” There was no answer on the other end. “Gabe, Frenchie, do you hear me?” he asked again. Still no answer, so he tried calling Steve._

**_“I’m here, Buck.”_ **

_“Private Verona’s been trying to contact Gabe and Frenchie to let them know he’s meeting them downstairs, but they haven’t been answering. Can you reach them?”_

**_“We’ve tried to reach them also,”_ ** _Steve answered. **“But like you, no dice. Let’s hope they just have a bad signal down there and it’s not something worse.”**_

_“All right, thanks Steve,” Bucky said. “Isaac…”_

**_“I heard him, Sarge,”_ ** _Isaac said on the other end. **“And if I can’t contact them I’m just gonna have to head down there unannounced. I hope they won’t mind me popping in.”**_

_“Just be careful on the way down, all right?” Bucky said._

**_“I will,”_ ** _Isaac answered. Then the call ended._

_Had Bucky known that that would be the last time he would ever hear Isaac’s voice for a very, very long time, he would have said something more._

~

_It took Bucky about ten minute to jog up to the rendezvous point, located on an overlook hidden behind the tree line 85 yards East of the facility._

_The first person he saw when he got there was Falsworth, who was acting as lookout. He was peering through his binoculars, staring in the direction of the facility. He didn’t notice Bucky’s arrival until the sound of rustling foliage caught his attention, causing his head to snap in his direction and his momentary look of alert alarm to dissolve into relief when he saw Bucky rather than some enemy._

_“Good to see you, Barnes,” Falsworth said in his familiar upper-class English accent. His words caught the attention of everyone else, who also were focused intently on the facility._

_“Likewise,” Bucky answered._

_Steve emerged from behind Falsworth before trotting over and giving his friend a hug. “Glad to see you made it out, Buck.”_

_“Me too,” Bucky replied. “Is everyone else out yet?”_

_“All except Jones, Dernier, and Verona,” Steve said. “We’re still waiting on them. We tried contacting them a few more times, but no luck.”_

_Bucky’s heart sank slightly. “So, what are we going to do?_

_Steve shrugged. “I don’t think we can do much except wait, and keep trying to contact them. However long that may take.”_

_Bucky nodded slowly, feeling his stomach tighten. He wished he could do something, but nothing came to mind. Looks like he was just going to have to follow the Captain’s orders and wait._

_He followed Steve and joined the others, taking a spot next to Morita who was fiddling with the radio. Morita, thankfully, didn’t deduce anything suspicious from Bucky’s desire to be close to the radio. It never occurred to him that Bucky was keeping close in hopes of hearing something from the remaining soldiers, primarily Isaac, who mattered more to him than any of them could ever know._

_After a few more minutes, they tried again to contact Jones and Dernier. But again, nothing came out of it. Only static answered back. They then tried to contact Isaac, to see if he made it down to the engine rooms. But oddly, they got the same static reply. That caused Bucky to let out a nervous breath, which was noticed by Dugan._

_“You OK, Barnes?” he asked._

_Bucky looked at him, seemingly unprepared for the question, not really thinking that anyone could hear him. “Uh…” he breathed. “That static’s making me nervous.”_

_Dugan let out a prolonged exhale and nodded. “It makes us all nervous, Sarge.”_

_Bucky didn’t know why, but Dugan’s remark caused him to secretly roll his eyes. Most likely because he knew that Dugan’s nerves could never equate to his own. He had no idea just how nervous Bucky really was. In fact, ‘nervous’ was too simple of a word to pin down how Bucky felt right now._

**_“Captain, do you read?”_ **

_The silence was broken by the sound of Gabe’s voice over the radio. In a second, everyone present gathered around the radio as Steve pushed his way to the front._

_“I read you, Jones,” Steve answered. “We’ve been trying to contact you, but couldn’t. What happened?”_

**_“Sorry Cap,”_ ** _Gabe said with an almost sheepish tone. **“The engine rooms apparently have very thick walls. We couldn’t get a signal through. We tried, as you did, but couldn’t. Sorry for any heart attacks we might have caused.”**_

_This drew a laugh from everyone else. “Yeah, thanks for that!” Dugan said sarcastically._

**_“Anyway, is everyone else out?”_ ** _Gabe asked._

_“Pretty much, yes,” Steve answered._

**_“Good. We just got out ourselves, and all the charges have been planted. Do you want us to detonate them now?”_ **

_“No,” Steve replied. “Get to the rendezvous point first and detonate them from here.”_

**_“Right-io, boss,”_ ** _Gabe said. **“We’ll be right there.”**_

_Bucky leaned forward and tapped Steve’s shoulder. Steve looked at him with a confused look, which then switched to one of realization when he saw Bucky mouth Isaac’s name._

_“Gabe, you still there?” he asked._

**_“Yes, Cap.”_ **

_“I forgot to ask, is Private Verona with you?”_

_There was a brief pause on the other end before Gabe spoke. **“Verona? No. Why?”**_

_“He and Bucky got separated,” Steve replied. “Bucky’s here now, but Isaac isn’t. He said he was going to go down to the engine rooms and leave with you two. He had tried reaching you with the radio but was unsuccessful. Did he make it down?”_

_There was another pause, which was not silent, as they could all hear the faint sound of Gabe speaking French, most likely to Dernier. Whatever Dernier’s response was, it was too inaudible to hear. After a moment, Gabe spoke again, this time in English._

**_“If he did make it down, it must have been after we left, because we never saw him. We didn’t even know he was coming down.”_ **

_“Oh no,” Morita muttered, causing everyone to look at each other in concern. Bucky felt his heart slide slowly down his rib-cage._

**_“Do you want us to go back in and look for him, Cap?”_ ** _Gabe asked._

_“No,” Steve answered. “It’s too risky. Come back to the rendezvous point, and we’ll figure out what to do then.”_

**_“Roger that, Cap,”_ ** _Gabe replied. Then the call ended._

_Bucky grabbed Steve’s arm, a little harder than he should have. “What are you doing,” he asked sharply. “Someone should go in and get him.”_

_“I don’t want to send any more men inside yet, just in case Verona has already gotten out,” Steve responded. “So for now, we’ll wait for him here. If he doesn’t show up after a while, I’ll head inside to retrieve him.”_

_“I’ll go with you,” Bucky said._

_“I’d love to have you come with me, Buck,” Steve said. “But you just got here. I think it’s best if you lay low with the others. Dugan will go with me. But let’s hope we won’t have to go in, and Verona will make it back.”_

_Despite his desire to protest, Bucky didn’t say anything, because he had never really considered the latter part of Steve’s statement until now. Now there couldn’t be anyone else who wanted that last part to be true more than him._

_~_

_It took Gabe and Dernier about ten minutes to make it back to the rendezvous point. But after another fifteen, there was still no sign of Isaac._

_The anxiety that everyone was feeling before had only increased in the last half hour as a result. Bucky couldn’t take it. Each minute that passed without any sign of Isaac caused the anxiety and dread to clamp down on his stomach a little harder. They tried again and again to contact Isaac over the radio. But each time they were instead greeted by that same static._

_“Alright, that’s it,” Steve finally said, standing up. “We’re going in. Dugan, let’s go.” Dugan nodded and stood up as well, his gun already locked and loaded, as it usually was._

_“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Bucky asked._

_“I’m sure,” Steve answered. “Just wait here with everyone else. We’ll keep in touch. Falsworth, cover us.” Falsworth nodded._

_“Let’s hope that our inability to communicate is just because Hermes has hunkered down in the engine rooms and can’t get a signal through,” Dugan said. “Poor kid’s probably gotten himself lost down there. He tends to do that, you know.”_

_“Yeah, let’s hope,” Steve said as he and Dugan headed off down the side of the overlook._ _It was starting to get dark and it didn’t take long for their forms to disappear in the growing darkness._

_Everyone else remained completely silent as the minutes passed, each one listening for Steve or Dugan’s voice on the radio, providing light in the darkness, metaphorically speaking, of course._

_Bucky didn’t even know how much time passed (a long time; way too long for him) before the radio suddenly crackled to life. **“Hello, anyone there!?”** It was Dugan._

_Everyone jumped up and ran to the radio. “Yes, we’re here,” Morita said._

**_“OK, good,”_ ** _Dugan said. **“Cap and I are outside now! We couldn’t find Hermes anywhere! He’s nowhere in the engine rooms. We have another problem! When we got to the engine rooms there were dozens of HYDRA soldiers swarming the place, and they came dangerously close to finding and disarming the charges. We were able to fight them off, but more will be coming. Cap says we have no choice now; we have to detonate the charges right away!”**_

_“What about Isaac?” Bucky asked frantically._

**_“Buck?”_ ** _It was Steve’s voice this time._

_“Yeah?”_

**_“We don’t have a choice. We have to set those charges off really soon. It’s the only chance we have of taking this facility down, a chance we may never get again.”_ **

_Bucky found himself unable to answer with words. Instead, he released a loud breath._

**_“Don’t worry, Buck. Isaac is smart. He knows better than to stick around too long when there’s no one there for him to meet up with. If he wasn’t in the engine rooms he most likely got out already. He’s probably laying low outside somewhere.”_ **

_Bucky recognized this as Steve trying to calm him down. It didn’t really work, but Bucky knew that Steve was right; it was now or never._

_“OK,” he said._

**_“We’ll let you fellas know when we’re a safe distance away.”_ **

_“Gotcha, Cap,” Morita said as the call ended._

_“I’m sure Private Verona’s fine,” Major Pascal said, while his men remained silent. “I’m sure he’s too smart to hang around an enemy facility when he knows his men are here waiting.”_

_“Then why hasn’t he contacted us yet?” Bucky said._

_Everyone else fell silent at that, simply because none of them wanted to voice any other possibility beside ‘he got out and he’s safe’. So silence was the only thing heard for the next ten minutes. After that, the silence was soon interrupted._

**_“Morita?”_ **

_“Yes, Captain,” Morita answered._

**_“We’re a safe distance away. You guys can detonate the charges now.”_ ** _The order was given with a flat, almost solemn tone that everyone could hear._

_Morita paused before responding. “Yes, Captain.”_

_Morita turned and looked at Dernier, who was clutching the detonator in his hands and gave him a nod. Dernier hesitated, first looking at Gabe, who spoke to him in French, urging him on. He hesitated a little more, looking around at everyone else, as if looking for approval. Bucky fixed his eyes on the Frenchman, who made his rounds looking at each of the Commandos before his eyes made it to him. Swallowing to relieve the sheet of sandpaper his throat had just become, Bucky finally relented and gave Dernier a slow nod of approval. Steve was right; this was their only chance._

_Dernier still looked unsure, but nevertheless let out a sigh and pushed the button on the detonator, turning the factory into a blazing, towering inferno that lit up the darkling sky in a matter of seconds. The blast of the explosion sent many of the soldiers to the ground to take cover, while others simply ducked away from the blast. Once the dust had cleared, everyone straightened up and stared at the now burning factory, many considering, but not accepting the idea that Isaac could have gone up in smoke with it._

_The fire from the burning factory lit the surrounding areas with a light almost as bright as day, and in the distance they could hear men shouting in multiple language, no doubt HYDRA soldiers shouting in distress. The light from the fire allowed the Allies to see farther ahead of their hiding spot, and soon they saw Steve and Dugan returning. However, upon getting a closer look at the two soldiers, all their expression twisted into frowns, then looks of alarm._

_Steve and Dugan were not walking toward them; they were running!_

_“Take cover!” Steve shouted as he and Dugan ran toward the rendezvous point._

_Two seconds later, they were followed by a barrage of bullets and gunfire right behind them, sending the Howling Commandos and Pascal’s men diving behind trees and rocks for cover. Steve stopped and turned, using his shield to protect himself and Dugan from the bullets as the latter picked up his speed and dove behind a tree across from the rock Bucky and Falsworth were hiding behind. A moment later, Steve turned and ran to the rendezvous point, quickly ducking behind the same rock as Bucky and Falsworth. They took a peek over the rock and saw a line of HYDRA soldiers heading towards them, firing their weapons._

_“Those sons of bitches found our hiding spot!” Dugan shouted as he fired his gun at the HYDRA soldiers. “How did they know where we were??”_

_“I don’t know!” Steve shouted. “But they found us nonetheless!”_

_“What do we do, Captain!?” Falsworth asked._

_“For now, just keep firing!” Steve answered._

_Not that he needed to say it, as everyone was already firing. The odds weren’t looking good, though. There appeared to be an ever increasing number of HYDRA soldiers. Every time they killed one, more appeared. Looks like HYDRA still lives up to its name, even in the heat of battle. And going up against this ever increasing number was just Steve, the Howling Commandos, Major Pascal, and eight of his men._

_Sixteen against God only knows how many._

_“Good God!” Morita said, firing his gun nonstop. “How many soldiers do they have in this Goddamn factory??”_

_“Well, it was a big factory,” Gabe responded as he too continued to fire._

_“CAPTAIN!”_

_Everyone turned toward the sound of Major Pascal’s voice, and saw the Frenchman looking at them in distress. They saw, to their horror, that he was kneeling next to the body of one of his soldiers, who had just gotten shot through the neck and was now lying lifeless on the ground next to a pool of his own blood, still grasping at his wound after pointlessly attempting to stop the bleeding himself. Two other soldiers were also kneeling next to their fallen comrade, clutching the body while screaming in anguish_ (Whiskey Eyes and his brother, Bucky suddenly remembered with a burst of shock at that sudden realization).

_Now, it was fifteen against God only knows how many. And they were advancing on the tiny party way too quickly._

_“Bloody Hell!” Falsworth said. “We could really use Verona right now!” He kept firing his gun as if his life depended on it, which (no shit), it really did! “What’s our course of action, Captain?” he asked Steve._

_Steve didn’t answer him at first. His eyes were still glued on the French soldier that had just gotten gunned down, his heart a heavy stone in his chest._

_“Steve?” came Bucky’s voice. This time, Steve responded and looked at his friend. “What are we going to do?”_

_For a moment, Steve just stared at him, his mind in chaos. Were there less HYDRA soldiers heading toward them, the odds would be better. Steve could take on 6-10 men by himself in hand-to-hand combat, while everyone else took care of the rest. But there were a lot more soldiers than that. Not to mention that the Allies were now down by two men; one was dead and the other was, at the moment, curiously MIA. The odds were not in their favor at all right now._

_“There are too many of them,” Steve finally said. “We have to call a retreat!”_

_Bucky’s face dropped in disbelief. “We can’t go now. What about Isaac? We can’t just leave without him!”_

_“We have no choice, Buck,” Steve said. His voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed his blatant feelings of guilt and reluctance at his choice. It could even be debated whether he was intending to try hiding them or not._

_“No, Steve,” Bucky countered. “I already left him behind once. I can’t do it again. I won’t!”_

_“If we stay any longer we’ll be overrun, and we could lose more men.” Steve responded. “We’re already down by two, and I am not going to risk the lives of any more. We’ve done what we can here. Now, we need to get our tails out of here before we suffer any more losses.”_

_Bucky didn’t answer, although he wanted to. He wanted to protest, to fight for Isaac more. But Steve had made an upsettingly good point._

_“Believe me, Bucky,” Steve said. “I wouldn’t be doing this if there was any other way.”_

_Bucky’s chin fell against his chest, and he exhaled sharply. He really couldn’t come up with a response. So with regret wringing his heart and stomach dry, he let his silence speak for him, revealing his acceptance. Steve nodded in response._

_“Fall back!” Steve shouted at the others. “Fall back now!”_

_The Howling Commandos, at first, looked at Steve in momentary confusion, even though the reason for such an order shouldn’t have been all that elusive. They were being advanced on by an uncountable number of enemy soldiers, after all. It should have been an order they would obey without hesitation. But the awareness of their last companion’s absence locked their eyebrows together, and stopped them from moving immediately._

_“That’s it?” Dugan asked. “We’re just gonna leave, without Hermes?”_

_“Does it look like we have a choice?” Bucky asked flatly before Steve could, motioning toward the advancing soldiers._

_Dugan looked out at them. “Good point,” he said. “All right, you boys heard the Captain. Move out!”_

_Dugan’s words were soon followed by Major Pascal repeating the order to his own soldiers in French, to which they responded with an affirming nod as they lifted the body of their fallen comrade._

_Everyone else stood up and began backing up with their weapons pointed at the advancing soldiers. Steve raised his shield to deflect some of the bullets, protecting as many men as he could. Dugan released bullets in endless streams, yelling his usual war cry as he did. Everyone kept dodging behind trees and rocks, cover after cover, as they moved backwards in retreat. At one point, Bucky dodged behind the same rock as Gabe and Dernier, who were firing their guns nonstop._

_Suddenly, Dernier started muttering something in French and set his weapon down on the ground, painting frowns on both Bucky and Gabe’s faces. Neither of them had much time to ask what he was doing before he reached into his coat and pulled out, not one, but two grenades, causing the other two men to instinctively move a couple inches away from him._

_"Emergencies,” Dernier told them, raising the grenades up slightly in one hand._

_The corner of Bucky’s mouth quirked up upon hearing that; he shouldn’t be surprised that Dernier kept grenades for the same reason Isaac did._

_Both Gabe and Bucky kept their distance as Dernier took a quick peek over the rock before removing the pin from the first grenade and chucking it in the direction of the advancing soldiers._

_“Grenade!” Gabe shouted, causing everyone to duck behind their current covers._

_His words were immediately followed by the faint sound of the grenade hitting the ground, and the panicked shouts of the advancing enemy soldiers in a multitude of different languages as they attempted to put as much distance between themselves and the grenade as they could, which they failed to do before it went off, sending several of them flying. Dernier didn’t give them any time to recover before he repeated the same action with the second grenade, to the same effect._

_No doubt, Dernier’s decision aided the Allies immensely. In the time it took for the HYDRA soldiers to recover from the grenades and continue their advance, the Allies were able to complete their retreat, slipping back into the darkness of the forest, many of them moving with heavy, unwilling steps._

_~_

_Almost immediately after arriving at the camp, they made arrangements for the fallen French soldier to be returned home for burial, and Private Isaac Jonas Verona was declared Missing In Action._

_Or, as defined by the Howling Commandos, Missing In Action...for now._

_~_

_The next morning, the Howling Commandos did something that they’d never done before; they returned to the facility they had just destroyed._

_Schmidt had already come, inspected the damage, and left hours before with most of the staff, leaving behind a small skeleton crew of HYDRA soldiers to clean what they could of the mess._

_The Howling Commandos, as well as Major Pascal and his unit, picked a hiding spot about 80 yards North of the factory’s ruins, in a spot that was even more hidden by the tree line than their other hiding spot had been. There, they waited until Schmidt was gone before making their advance on the facility._

_Schmidt had left barely thirty men behind to clean up and collect any corpses or still usable equipment; a number that the Allies could easily handle._

_Subduing Schmidt’s men was not as easy as it should have been. The Allies forgot to remind themselves that every HYDRA soldier had cyanide pills on demand, and didn’t like getting caught; a deadly combination. Of the thirty men left behind by Schmidt, they only managed to stop six of them from committing suicide. The others were successful; meeting their foaming, convulsive ends right before the Allies horrified eyes. The surviving soldiers were quickly subdued and held at gunpoint while the rest of the Allies started where they had left off on their search, trying to find some clue to tell them what happened to their missing soldier. Thankfully Schmidt’s crew had already done a good chunk of the work. The Howling Commandos started by looking at the corpses of those who were killed in the explosion that had been collected so far, which consisted of only about seventeen men._

_Bucky didn’t participate in that search. He couldn’t bring himself to; fearing that one of those corpses would be wearing Isaac’s uniform, confirming what he dreaded most. So, Dugan and Morita conducted that search, looking over the bodies which had been conveniently laid side-by-side by Schmidt’s crew, their features grim as they prepared for the truth. Meanwhile, Falsworth was with a small handful of French soldiers looking over the collection of intact equipment found in the wreckage that Schmidt’s crew had gathered so far._

_Bucky stood next to Steve, Colonel Phillips, Peggy Carter, and everyone else, waiting for word of what was found in both piles. After a few minutes, they were approached by Dugan and Morita, their stances stiffening as the two men got closer._

_“Good news so far,” Morita said. “We checked the bodies and they’re all wearing HYDRA uniforms. Doesn’t look like Verona’s among them.” His words caused everyone’s stance to soften._

_“Now, we shouldn’t get our hopes up,” Dugan said. “Remember, those are just the bodies that they’ve collected so far. There still could be more lying around in the wreckage. And...well, there’s just no tellin’ who we’ll find.”_

_“Well, then we better start looking now,” Steve said._

_“Captain!”_

_Their heads all abruptly turned at the sound of Falsworth’s voice as the Brit approached them, clutching something in his arms. Once he was right in front of them, they saw that the object in his hands was an M1941 Johnson rifle, damaged from the blast but still mostly intact. Recognizing the gun instantly, Bucky pretty much snatched it from Falsworth before the man had time to speak._

_“That’s not a HYDRA weapon,” Falsworth said, despite the gun being abruptly taken from him. “Look along the butt.”_

_Bucky flipped the gun over, revealing to everyone the letters carved into the butt._

_I.J.V._

_Isaac’s initials._

_Isaac had put them there using his own knife. For some reason he had become madly infatuated with this particular rifle, out of hundreds of them. It was something about the grip, he said; something about it that made that rifle feel good in his hands. He could never explain it. So he didn’t try. He simply made sure that he claimed it before anyone else did, even going so far as marking it with his initials. As far as everyone was concerned, the rifle was his. Thankfully, he had enough integrity to not go down the Dugan route and give the rifle a name (Dugan had named his favorite gun Esmeralda, inducing chuckles from everyone else. He usually just ignored them, though). Isaac would simply address the rifle as ‘old boy’. It was never an official name; just something he called it from time to time._

_He was insanely fond of that rifle, so much so that he would never just leave it behind, if he had a choice._

_“Do you know where they found it?” Peggy asked Falsworth._

_The Brit shook his head. “We’ll have to ask them that.”_

_“And that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Bucky said sharply._

_He turned and made his way over to where the remaining members of Schmidt’s crew were being held at gunpoint by Major Pascal’s men. Major Pascal was standing in front of them, keeping a close eye on them, as well as his men. Bucky approached him with a quickened pace, causing the Frenchman to turn with a start when Bucky suddenly appeared right next to him. Once he recovered, he gave Bucky a polite nod._

_“Sergeant Barnes,” he said._

_“Major Pascal,” Bucky returned. He then showed him the rifle. “This is Private Verona’s rifle. It was among the intact equipment they were able to collect so far. We need to know where they found it. Do you know if any of these men speak English?”_

_The Major shook his head. “No. But let’s find out.” He then turned to the HYDRA soldiers. “Do any of you speak English?”_

_The only answer the HYDRA soldiers gave were looks of confusion. The Major cocked an eyebrow, his sharp, grey eyes scanning the soldiers before he asked the question again, in French. This time, he watched the soldiers closely, gauging their reactions. As he had hoped, even more, in fact, he saw most of the soldiers’ faces and body language give away little flickers of recognition, despite their best efforts to conceal it. Pascal’s lip quirked as he paced in front of the soldiers a few times before pausing._

_“ <I know most of you are Frenchman, or at least understand what I’m saying,>” he said in French. “<Your bodies give it away. So I’m sure you should be able to answer our question.>” He took Isaac’s rifle from Bucky and held it up so the soldiers could see. “<This rifle belongs to an American soldier who disappeared last night during the mission. We need to know where you found it.>”_

_None of the soldiers answered verbally, causing the Major to let out a sigh as he started pacing in front of them again. He did this for a full minute. If his intention was to make the soldiers uneasy, he succeeded. Many of them shifted uncomfortably whenever the Major’s grey eyes passed over them like a searchlight. Before long, he suddenly stopped in front of one of soldiers, a young one. Despite the Major’s eyes staring down at him, the soldier kept his head down and eyes averted, but just barely. Major Pascal then squatted down in front of the soldier; his eyes remaining completely pinned on him._

_“Bonjour, Monsieur,” he said. “ <You speak French, do you not?>” He knew the answer already, but wanted to try and get the soldier to talk. As expected, the soldier held his tongue. “<Hey!>” Pascal said sharply, grabbing the soldier’s chin and forcing him to look at him. “<I asked you a question. You speak French, do you not?>”_

_“Oui, Monsieur.” the soldier said, finally relenting._

_“ <I thought so,>” the Major replied. He brought the rifle forward for the soldier to see. “<You can’t, by any chance, tell me where this was found?>” The soldier shook his head, causing the Major to purse his lips. “<I find that incredibly difficult to believe.>”_

_“ <I mean it, monsieur,>” the soldier replied. “<I really don’t know where it was found.  I wasn’t one of the people who found it.>” He turned, motioning to the soldier on his right. “<Auguste here was, though.>”_

_The soldier in question, the one named Auguste, sharply looked at the younger soldier with a stunned expression at how much he had just said._

_“ <Oh, he was?>” Pascal said, turning his attention to Auguste._

_“ <You puny, gutless traitor!>” Auguste snarled at the young soldier. “<You betray HYDRA!>”_

_“ <I betray no one,>” the younger soldier replied. “<I reveal no big secrets. They are only searching for one soldier, who is probably dead already anyway. I give them nothing of great worth!>”_

_“ <Little ingrate!>” Auguste snapped. “<If we ever get out of this I’ll rip your tongue out!>”_

_“ <You can do it now, if you like,>” the Major interjected coolly, drawing looks of shock from both the soldiers. “<After all, he has nothing valuable to share with me, as he said. So his tongue would be no great loss to me.>” _

_The two French soldiers who were holding the two HYDRA soldiers at gunpoint looked at each other with amused expressions that evolved into smirks. They knew the Major, and could tell when he was joking. But the HYDRA soldiers did not, which was just how the Major liked it. He liked to leave them squirming. He was pretty wicked that way_

_“ <You, on the other hand,>” the Major said, turning back to Auguste. “<…do have something good to tell me, no?>” He held Isaac’s rifle forward again. “<Where did you find this?>”_

_Auguste responded by spitting at the Major’s face, who jumped back slightly with a gasp. The soldier pointing the gun at Auguste shouted a curse in French and kicked Auguste in the ribs, sending him face down on the ground. The Major quickly raised his hand, stopping his own soldier from doing anything else. He grabbed Auguste by the collar and hoisted him until he was looking him in the eyes._

_“ <Fantastic aim there, soldier,>” he said, wiping the saliva off his face with his sleeve. “<But was that really necessary? We’re not asking for any of HYDRA's deepest secrets. We’re just trying to find our missing soldier. So, I’ll ask again; where did you find this rifle?>” Auguste answered the Major with a glare, but said nothing. “<Where did you find it?>” the Major said again through gritted teeth._

_Auguste glared at him for a few more moments before letting out a sound that was some gruff hybrid of a growl and a sigh before finally begrudgingly answering the Major’s question in French._

_Bucky remained where he was, anxiously watching Major Pascal interrogate the soldiers, and understanding almost none of what they were saying, only half noticing that Steve, Peggy, Colonel Phillips, and everyone else had joined him. After a while, he heard the Major say thank you in French before standing up and walking over to him._

_“He says that they found it on the South-East side of the wreckage,” Major Pascal told Bucky. “-not that far from where the Primary Office was located. They were in the middle of searching there when we interrupted them.”_

_“Well, looks like we’re just gonna start where they left off,” Colonel Phillips said, before turning to the rest of the Howling Commandos. “Alright men, you heard him; South-East side, now!”_

_No one hesitated a moment, quickly making their way to the South-East side, which looked like it had only been partially cleared._

_“Alright,” Steve said. “Everyone spread out and start moving debris. If you see anything, even if it’s a body, give a shout.” Everyone could agree that they actually heard Steve’s stomach drop slightly in his voice as he said the last part._

_“Move it, boys!” Colonel Phillips shouted, sending everyone scattering._

_For the next hour they worked furiously, moving debris and working in twos or threes to lift the bigger stuff. Bucky didn’t try to count how many times his heart rate would crescendo rabidly to a point of near failure only to die down just as quickly whenever a large piece of debris was moved, fearing that they would find Isaac’s body underneath, only for there to be nothing. He couldn’t decide whether he actually felt any relief from empty discoveries like that, or just further dread. At least a body would provide some closure. But this…this was just…nothing. That could mean Isaac either is alive, or the blast didn’t leave his body intact. Even then, they’d expect to see at least some trace of his corpse. But they haven’t even found that._

_Looking back, Bucky realized that it was from these ups and downs in heart rate and one empty discovery after another that the_ not knowing _was able to latch onto him and start sucking him dry. Yeah, this was right around when it started._

_Suddenly, someone gave a shout, causing everyone to drop whatever size debris they were moving and turn their eyes to the direction it came from. What they saw was Dugan stumbling across the wreckage, waving around something in his hands; something that appeared to glint every time the sun hit it from certain angles. Everyone immediately ran toward Dugan, meeting him half way just was he presented his findings to them. You could almost hear the collective rise in everyone’s heart rate when they saw what Dugan had found._

_Resting in the palm of his hands was a couple of dog tags attached to a broken chain. The edges were warped from the heat of the blast and some of the words had been browned and melted flat. Only the familiar shape of Isaac’s name was still intact._

_“They’re Verona’s dog tags,” Dugan stated, rather unnecessarily. “He was definitely here.”_

_“Where exactly did you find these?” Steve asked._

_Rather than answer verbally, Dugan simply turned and ran back in the direction he had come from. Everyone else followed without a question. After a moment of darting clumsily across fallen debris, Dugan suddenly stopped._

_“I found them right around here,” he said, drawing circular motions with his hands, indicating where._

_“Alright,” Steve said as he turned to the others. “Everyone pair up and spread out. We’ll resume the search from here and move outward. Holler if you find anything else. Let’s move!”_

_Everyone nodded in affirmation and spread out. Bucky was paired up with Dugan, Gabe with Dernier, Falsworth with Morita, and Steve with Peggy, who insisted that she help out. Everyone knew better than to fight her. Because no matter what, it’s always best to just do as Peggy says._

_They searched for another half hour to forty five minutes, moving debris with an almost furious determination. Major Pascal ordered the few men of his unit who were not watching the prisoners to join in the search. Looking back, Bucky doesn’t remember seeing Whiskey Eyes or his brother there at all. They had stayed back at camp, with the body of their fallen fellow soldier. Bucky sure as hell hoped that they wouldn’t end up going through the same thing with Isaac._

_“Capitaine! Capitaine!” Jacques Dernier suddenly started shouting._

_Everyone turned to see the Frenchman waving his hands to get Steve’s attention. Like before, they all stopped what they were doing and ran toward the spot where Dernier and Gabe were searching. As they got closer, they saw that Gabe was bent over, the back of his hand pressed against his lips, as if he had just vomited, or was about to. Dernier had a perturbed look on his face._

_“Careful, guys,” Gabe croaked out. “It’s not a pretty picture.”_

_If the smell was anything to go by, they had no doubt he was right; that unmistakable smell of burnt, decaying flesh. Smelling it was enough to send Bucky’s heart rate into panic mode. But once he saw it, his heart almost stopped dead._

_Sticking out from underneath a large piece of debris was a human hand, burned and mangled from the blast. There was no sleeve visible, so there was no way to tell what uniform the corpse was wearing. Everyone stared at the hand, their fear stiffening them into statues._

_“Is it Isaac?” Bucky finally asked, his voice hoarse._

_“We don’t know yet,” Gabe said._

_“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Steve said. “We have to move the debris.”_

_At that, Gabe turned away, shaking his head with his hand raised in a dismissive gesture. “I can’t – I can’t do it, Captain. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”_

_Steve looked at Dernier, and the Frenchman shook his head in response, the same troubled expression as before. Among the Howling Commandos, Gabe and Dernier were not usually the ones with the weakest stomachs (for sake of their dignity, let’s not name who is). In fact, even with dead bodies, they usually did a good job of holding things together. But this time, there was a possibility that the body was someone they knew, someone they fought alongside, and even considered a brother. Since everyone else was feeling the same way, they could not blame the two men for turning away._

_“I’ll move it,” Steve volunteered. His voice was heavy and uneven._

_“I’ll help you,” Dugan offered, his voice matching Steve’s._

_The two men stepped forward and together lifted the debris. Bucky turned away, choosing to stare down at the ground instead. He couldn’t bring himself to look, not even wanting to prepare himself should his worst fear come true. He listened to the sound of movement, Dugan and Steve’s grunts as they lifted the debris together, expecting to hear them say that they found him. Instead what he heard was Dugan let out a sigh of….relief? Did he hear that correctly?_

_“It’s not Verona,” Steve said. “Just another HYDRA soldier.”_

_“Thank God,” Peggy said in a soft, breathy voice._

_It took Bucky a second to finally find the courage to turn around and look at the corpse. Somehow the knowledge that it wasn’t Isaac was the only thing giving him that courage; he never would have been able to do it otherwise. Even when he was looking at it, he still didn’t quite believe that it wasn’t him. He kept waiting for his eyes to reveal that his hope was blinding him, and the corpse would turn out to actually be wearing Isaac’s uniform. He kept waiting for it to happen, which it never did. Slowly, his hope returned as the truth cemented itself in his mind._

_“Alright,” Colonel Phillips said. “Our search isn’t over. There’s still more ground to cover. So let’s get to it. Come on, we’re burning daylight here, people! Keep looking. Go!”_

_They spent the whole rest of the day searching through the ruins. They found nothing else except half a dozen corpses of more HYDRA soldiers. Otherwise, there was nothing there except debris, shrapnel, and other remnants of the ruined factory. They even searched the surrounding grounds, in hopes that they would find some evidence of Isaac having made it out. Again, nothing was found._

_Around this point, Bucky was struck with an awful thought. If they couldn’t even find Isaac’s body, then he must still be alive. If he’s not here, then there’s the strong possibility that HYDRA could have gotten a hold of him. Bucky shuddered at the thought, remembering all too well the tortures he and Isaac had endured the last time they were prisoners of HYDRA. Well, he didn’t know exactly what Isaac had been through, but if it was anything like he himself had experienced, he had no doubt that they'd do the exact same thing to Isaac again. He almost wished Isaac was dead; at least then he would have been spared from having to experience that agony again. He relayed this suspicion to Steve and the others, who all seemed to already possess the same thought_

_Nevertheless, they kept searching. They would have continued to search all the way into the night. Unfortunately, they were forced to abandon their search on the cusp of evening because Morita had intercepted HYDRA communications and learned that Schmidt was returning that night to check up on the progress of the clean-up. Reluctantly, the Allies had no choice but to stop abruptly and leave in the same fashion. They tied up the enemy soldiers they had captured and left them behind for Schmidt to find before beginning their slow trek back to camp._

_They returned to the camp with empty hands and heavy hearts, many feeling like they really needed a drink, while others claimed that they didn’t feel like drinking, some not even having the will to keep the drink down._

_“Get some sleep, men,” Colonel Phillips said. “It’s been a long and exhausting day, and we could all use some serious shut-eye. We’ll continue searching tomorrow, and any other day after that we may need. We won’t stop until we know what happened to Isaac Verona. Until then, rest well, men.”_

_Everyone wished him good night before retiring themselves. Bucky let out a secret humorless laugh at the Colonel’s words. Getting sleep was not going to be as easy as it was to simply say. It made Bucky’s stomach sink knowing that tonight, and God only knows how many nights after this, he would be sleeping alone. He hated sleeping alone now. He hated the fact that the nights he and Isaac spent together were few and far between. While it made those nights seem even sweeter, it also made the spaces in between seem more empty and cold. Now, the thought that he would be sleeping alone, like he had during those long spaces, for a very long time, maybe even indefinitely, made his stomach feel hollow in a way unrelated to hunger. Nevertheless, he also retired to his tent, trying to at least get some sleep before they resumed the search the next day._

_Thus began the longest and hardest 4 months he had ever experienced_

~*~

Bucky didn't know, nor did he really care, how long he stared at Isaac's dog tags. He didn't know how many times the mission ran through his head, or how many times he saw flashes of that last glimpse of Isaac's faces he got before leaving him behind, the other man's reassuring smile trying and failing to mask the uncertainty in his eyes. He didn't know how many times he allowed his guilt, anger, and loneliness to gnaw away at his insides, causing the gaping hole in his chest to widen.

What he did know, though, was that now that that hole was bigger, he had less of a chance of getting any sleep.

He kept trying to convince himself of what the others had been saying to him since it happened; it wasn't his fault. There was nothing he could have done to prevent it. But all that kept getting drowned by the other voice screaming at him, telling him that it was his fault, and that there was more he could, and should, have done. He should have tried harder to get the door open. He should have tried looking for another way to get in, and made sure that Isaac got out safely.

_He should not have just left him there!_

Great, now the hole was even bigger. He was definitely not going to be getting much sleep tonight. But he knew he had to give it a go. He would at least _try_ to sleep, even if nothing came out of it.

As if forcibly pushed by a pair of invisible hands, Bucky flopped down on the cot, slipping the cap back under the pillow. He placed the dog tags on the pillow next to him, keeping his hands on them and imagining that it was one of those rare nights Isaac spent with him; imagining that he was feeling his warm, solid form next to him, rather than that lifeless, cold metal.

Bucky sighed, feeling that hole widen as he clamped his eyes shut.

 

** Meanwhile, on the dirt road **

The sun had long since set, leaving him completely smothered in blackness. While there was half of a moon in the sky with a sea of stars, it was not enough to provide any sufficient amount of light, especially since the trees moved in thick patches above him, sometimes blocking out the light completely, taking a tiny shard of hope with it each time.

He must have been wandering up this dirt road for hours. At least that's what it felt like. It could have only been a few minutes. He had no way of knowing. His sense of time had become nothing more than a blurred smear, stripped of any discernible shape or form, since the sun had set. The only thing he had the mental capacity to focus on was where his feet were going, and following the road. A long, sluggish yawn crawled out of his throat. He was tired beyond any reasonable thought. Any other man would have stopped and found someplace to sleep, but he didn't know where to even begin to look for one. Besides, he was too afraid to stop, just in case some enemy found him, so he kept walking. At this point he felt like a reanimated corpse trudging through a black abyss by sheer will alone. He kept waiting and expecting the ground under his feet to just dissolve, leaving him either falling, or floating through an endless void. That did not happen, of course. But what did happen was that the dirt road suddenly stopped and T'ed off into another dirt road.

For a moment, he just stared at the road, the gap in the trees letting in just enough light for him to see it. Great; another choice. He really didn't have the focus to really make a reasonable decision, so he went to the right. Why right? He wasn't really sure. It just felt....right. God, what a terrible joke! Nevertheless, he found himself laughing out loud to it, which lasted a full minute before stopping abruptly. Had he been thinking straight, he would have seen that as a huge sign of how badly he needed sleep.

How long did he wander up this new road? His best guess was a half an hour? Forty-five minutes? An hour? He could only guess, and most likely be wrong. Anyway, some undetermined amount of time later, that new dirt road ended as well, and T'ed off into yet another road. He paused and stared at this newer road, a little longer than he did with the last one. It didn't look like a dirt road. It was wider and appeared to be a lot more used than the dirt roads he had been on, and there was more of a gap in the trees above, letting in plenty of light. It looked more like a main road, yet not like the ones used in the cities.

His first thought was to go to the left and follow the road in that direction, since it would send him North again (he believed). His second thought was one laced in dread. This road had no doubt been far more used than the dirt roads had, so there was no telling who was currently using it. Enemy, ally, or civilian? Should he turn back? No. If he turned back, he could run into _them_. He wanted to get as far away from them as he could. So, he turned left, heading North (he thought) up the road. He made sure to constantly look over his shoulder, and to be prepared to jump out of view should he see headlights.

It was a truly awful feeling, isolating and constricting, to endlessly feel like your life is in danger; to have to look over your shoulder all the time. To not feel safe anymore. You would think that he'd be used to not feeling safe, being a soldier and all. But being a soldier meant he had some way to fight back against what made him not feel safe. It was nothing like now, where he felt like a mouse being chased by, not a cat, but a lion, leaving him outmatched and hopeless! It was nothing like being _hunted!_

How did he even get here? What happened to him that led to this? He tried to remember. He tried to remember the exact moment that God chose to abandon him.

 

** 4 Months Earlier **

_Isaac watched Bucky's retreating figure through the bars of the door. The farther away he got, the lower his stomach seemed to sink as the possibility of him not seeing him again pranced around in the back of his mind. He had tried, and no doubt failed, to look and sound reassuring to Bucky. To appear courageous, like he believed his own words about how everything would be all right. He knew he had failed, because he saw that Bucky was not convinced. Well, he was just going have to make sure that he did exactly as he promised, and meet Bucky outside as he said he would._

_Without really knowing why, he patted the left side of his coat breast, where Oshiro’s journal was safely located. “You better have some good information in there,” he said. “I’m gonna be pretty upset if we ended up busting our tails here for nothing.”_

_Returning to the map on the wall, Isaac once again looked over his escape route, doing so a total of three times before turning to leave, to make sure he had it well imprinted in his memory. He then tried contacting Gabe and Dernier, but they wouldn’t answer. He stood there for a minute, trying two more times to reach them, but again, no success. He called Bucky, who also couldn’t reach them. Bucky then called Steve, but they were unsuccessful as well. There was no other option left; he was just going to have to go down and meet them without letting them know first. He hoped that nothing would go wrong._

_He tried his best to ignore the corpses of the HYDRA soldiers who had died in the explosion of the grenade, delicately stepping over them and even quickening his pace once he was clear of them, trying to put some distance between himself and them before he accidently let himself feel any kind of guilt._

_The alarm was blaring wildly as he cautiously made his way down the hallway, keeping his footfalls soft and steady. So soft and steady, in fact, that his heart would drop an inch every time he heard some other noise beside the alarm, even if it was a noise he made himself. Over and over again, he repeated the route he needed to take, to make sure he didn’t forget. The stairs to the engine rooms were some ways off, so it most likely would take him a little while to get there. He paused for a moment and turned on his radio to make one last attempt._

_“Gabe, Frenchie, can you hear me?” he asked. He was instead greeted by a loud, sharp static whine. “Ah!” he exclaimed in pain as he instinctively ripped the radio receiver out of his ear. “Yeah, thanks for that, Stark,” he muttered as he shoved the radio receiver into his coat pocket._

_He immediately clapped his hand over his mouth when he heard multiple footsteps up ahead coming right for him. Looking around frantically for a moment, he quickly tucked himself under the arch of the nearest door, pressing his body as far into the shadows as he physically could. The footsteps got closer and soon a group of several HYDRA soldiers went jogging past him down the hall, not seeing him hidden in the shadows. One of them was giving orders to the others, partially in English and partially in, what he guessed was German. From what he could understand, they were investigating the explosion caused by the grenade. Figures._

_As they went past, Isaac leaned forward to watch them until they were out of sight. However, he leaned a little too far, causing his hand, which was resting on the door frame for support, to slip slightly, drawing a small involuntary yelp for his mouth. The HYDRA soldier who was on the tail end of the group suddenly stopped and looked back, forcing Isaac back into the shadows, holding his breath. The soldier turned to his companions and shouted something in German, waving his hand. His companions kept going, so Isaac guessed that he told them to go on without him. The soldier in question then turned and started walking back to where Isaac was with his hand on his weapon, just in case. Isaac could see that he had one of the more…abnormal weapons; the ones that were powered by the Tesseract and glowed blue. He hated those kinds of weapons; they made him nervous, at the very least._

_Isaac remained completely frozen as the soldier slowly made his way back down the hall, walking right past Isaac without seeing him. He paused just past Isaac’s hiding spot and stood there for a moment, waiting and listening. Isaac peeked out from his hiding place, careful not to be seen by the curious soldier. Seeing that the soldier’s companions were no longer around, nor was anyone else, Isaac quietly stepped down from his hiding spot and tip-toed up behind the soldier. The soldier miraculously didn’t notice Isaac was right behind him, so Isaac made sure that changed. He tapped the soldier on the shoulder. The soldier spun around to see Isaac standing right behind him, who flashed a friendly smile._

_"Hey, how are ya?” he said cheerfully._

_The soldier hardly had a chance to even lift his weapon, because two seconds later his face was greeted by the butt of Isaac’s rifle, sending him crashing to the floor. Not taking any chances, Isaac placed his knee on the soldier’s chest, grabbed his collar, and brought his fist down hard on his jaw? Nose? Eye? He didn’t really know for sure. All he knew is that he hit the guy twice, which was more than enough to knock him out. Seeing that the soldier was out cold, Isaac winced and flicked his hand a couple times. He looked behind himself to make sure that his little stunt didn’t draw the soldier’s companions over._

_“Please God, don’t let anyone hear that,” he muttered under his breath as he set his own gun on the ground and picked up the soldier’s glowing weapon._

_It looked like some kind of assault rifle but it, of course, wasn’t a normal one. It wasn’t terribly big; probably about the same size as his rifle, but it no doubt packed a powerful punch. Along its barrel was the eerie glow that made Isaac’s skin squirm. He never understood this whole Tesseract business, and if he could he would stay as far away from it as possible. The whole thing made him edgy. It was all too unnatural, too alien, like those science-fiction comics he used to read. He always told himself that none of that was real. After all, it was called science-FICTION, not science-reality. But as he looked at the gun -whatever it was- in his hands, he felt like an idiot to even apply the word ‘fiction’ to it. It was as if the illustrations on the comic page had materialized into reality in his hands._

_“Just one. Just one,” he repeated as he inspected the weapon, as if he would just figure out how it worked by looking at it. “One is enough. Sheesh, these things make me so nervous. Dugan might like this, though.”_

_As he looked over the weapon, his touch tentative for fear of accidentally pressing something that might set it off, his attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of approaching footsteps coming down the hall right toward him. He looked up, his heart almost stopping for a second at the sound. However, as soon he saw who the footsteps belonged to, that second of panic was quickly replaced with a mounting hatred._

_It only took him a moment to recognize the man hastily walking down the hallway toward him; that lanky little Japanese man, draped in a long dark coat and clutching a brown leather briefcase to his chest. His head was down and he didn’t appear to be paying attention to what was right ahead of him, until he looked up and spotted Isaac._

_Upon noticing the young soldier kneeling over the unconscious body of one of HYDRA’s soldiers, Dr. Oshiro stopped in his tracks. He stared wide-eyed at Isaac, who slowly stood up as their eyes remained locked. Isaac glared at the Doctor with such intense hatred that he could physically feel his eyes burning. But that was most likely his body remembering the sensations hacking through every vein and muscle when Oshiro had him strapped to that table in Austria._

_The glare Isaac was dishing out clearly was working, as the Doctor began to tremble at the sight of it. He trembled so hard that he rattled the briefcase right out of his hands, causing the loose clasp to pop off and its contents to scatter on the floor. Frantically, Oshiro stooped down and attempted to gather up all the papers and files that had dropped and splashed everywhere as fast he could, his panicked breathing coming out in gasps._

_Isaac didn’t hesitate. As soon as the Doctor dropped to his knees, he raised the HYDRA weapon and pointed it at Oshiro. “Stop!” he shouted, causing the Doctor to look up at him and drop the briefcase altogether._

_Isaac ran up to him with the weapon still pointing at him. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Or, for Oshiro, it went back and forth between him looking at Isaac and looking at the weapon in his hands. He was trembling even more now, and slowly started to rise with his hands raised defensively. Seeing him slowly standing up, Isaac suddenly reached forward and grabbed the Doctor by the collar, shoving him up against the wall with the weapon still pointed at him. The Doctor let out gasp, his expression, a contorted mix of surprise and fear._

_“Don’t move!” Isaac growled. “Just for the record, I don’t entirely know how to use this thing. So try not to make any sudden moves or I might accidentally push something and vaporize you! And as much as I would like that, we need you alive, so don’t make me have to kill you.”_

_“OK, OK,” Oshiro pleaded. “I’ll cooperate. Just please, don’t hurt me.”_

_“Oh, good,” Isaac replied sharply. “You can speak English. That’ll make interrogating you that much easier.” He took a moment to give Oshiro a once-over, getting a chance to get a good look at the Doctor, since last time they met he was more focused on the pain the Doctor was inflicting on him. “You’re Dr. Oshiro? You’re really the one in charge here?” he said rhetorically. “Dear God. You’re just a kid.”_

_Upon hearing that, Dr. Oshiro’s fearful expression switched to one of almost comical offense. “Excuse me! I’m twenty-eight years old!”_

_“Still,” Isaac said. “You’re only a few years older than me.”_

_“Ah, of course,” the Doctor said with an ugly smile. “And such a strong one you are; a fine specimen. Still as fresh as you were back in Austria. Maybe even fresher."_

_Shock instantly mixed into Isaac’s glare as Dr. Oshiro spoke those words._

_“Oh yes, good soldier,” Oshiro said with a dry chuckle. “I remember you. I never forget a face, least of all yours. I could never forget you in my lab, strapped to the table, your screams echoing against the walls. It was glorious!”_

_Isaac shoved Dr. Oshiro harder against the wall. “Shut up!” he snarled._

_“You can still feel it, can’t you?” the Doctor asked. “That burning under your skin? Oh, the plans I had for you.”_

_“I said shut up!” Isaac snapped, pointing the HYDRA weapon directly at Dr. Oshiro’s head, wiping the smile right off his face. “You have a gun that can vaporize you pointing at your head, Doctor. I don’t think provoking me is the smartest thing to do right now. So save your breath. You can brag all about your plans when we regroup with the Allies. I’m sure they’d love to hear what you’ve got to say.”_

_“You won’t get a word out of me!” Oshiro said. “I refuse to talk.”_

_“Oh, you will, Doc. We have ways of making you. So whether you like it or not, we're leaving, and you're coming with me," Isaac said, never moving the gun away from Oshiro's face._

_Dr. Oshiro struggled hard, trying to wretch himself out of Isaac’s grip, and no doubt make a run for it. But the scientist could not match the strength of the young soldier, who tightened his grip and shoved him harder against the wall, drawing a pained groan from him. Oshiro eyes darted between Isaac's burning gaze and the gun in his hand, which hadn't moved from his face. Just then, his gaze stopped darting and rested on Isaac's face (behind him, actually, as Isaac realized later), and a devious smile crossed his lips._

_"It seems, good soldier," he sneered. "That there is something you have failed to consider." Isaac tilted his head in confusion. "I am not a soldier, as you are," Oshiro went on. "So I cannot match you physically."_

_"So?"_

_"So how on Earth do you think I defend myself?"_

_The question on Isaac's tongue, asking what Oshiro meant by that cryptic remark, went unasked, as it was answered a second later by an enormous hand clamping down on his shoulder with a grip that threatened to rip his arm right off. The soldier didn't have a second to react before that enormous hand picked him up and flung him against the opposite wall. The weapon was snatched from his hands and he screamed out as his body hit the wall with a skeleton rattling crash, sending shock-waves through his body that seem to vibrate his organs into mush._

_He shook his head, trying to regain his eyesight back. Once he could see well enough, he looked up and saw the brute of a man who had thrown him, now standing next to Oshiro with the HYDRA weapon clutched in his hand. He appeared to be over six feet tall, with a frame that obviously consisted primarily of muscle. His hair was ink black, and his eyes were even blacker, framed by folded lids, which showed him to be of Asian ethnicity, no doubt Japanese, like the Doctor. There was a nasty scar that ran down, almost completely vertical, from his hairline to his left eyebrow, and couldn't even be hidden by the creases in his forehead. He was wearing blue-grey coveralls, like that of a janitor or mechanic. He couldn’t really make a solid guess at how old the guy was._

_"He has a bodyguard. Fantastic," Isaac muttered before letting out a pained groan._

_The Brute in question sneered and raised the weapon, pointing it right at Isaac, who noticed that he had accidentally left his rifle next to the unconscious body of the other HYDRA soldier. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Suddenly, Dr. Oshiro shouted at the Brute in Japanese, and he reluctantly lowered the weapon. Using this momentary distraction, Isaac grabbed his pistol out of its holster and pointed it at the Brute. Unfortunately, the Brute had quicker reflexes, shouting at Isaac in Japanese, pointing the weapon at his chest, while Dr. Oshiro shouted at the Brute in Japanese as well. Isaac froze with his pistol still raised as he and the Brute stayed there with their weapons pointed at each other, only just realizing how pointless his action was. How could have been stupid enough to think that his tiny pistol would make any difference against a weapon powered by an otherworldly power source; one that could vaporize him with one minuscule squeeze of the trigger?_

_“It is pointless, good soldier,” Dr. Oshiro said. “You will be disintegrated long before you even have a chance to pull the trigger. So if you value your life, hand your weapon over.”_

_For a moment Isaac didn’t move, his gun still pointed at the Brute. Eventually, it began to sink in that the Doctor was right. There really was no point. He was out-matched, both physically and weapon-wise. His heart sank to the ground and his throat started to clamp as he racked his brain for some kind of plan to escape. As he did, his hand acted on its own and lowered his pistol onto the ground. The Brute stepped forward and kicked the gun aside until it was well out of Isaac’s reach._

_“There, that’s better,” Dr. Oshiro said. “Oh, by the way, good soldier, this is Kaito.” He pointed to the Brute. “He is my right hand and most trusted guard. We are one being, him and I; brain and brawn. The perfect duo. Now, your knife, if you please, and no tricks.”_

_Isaac’s heart sank lower as he looked up at the Doctor before sighing in defeat and reaching down, pulling his knife out of its sheath. He held the knife in front of him as Dr. Oshiro and his Brute, Kaito, waited expectantly. Isaac hesitated, not wanting to give up the knife. His brain was in chaos as he tried to think of a plan. He had one idea, but it was a wild one. Still, it was all he had. Very slowly, he made a move of lowering his knife to the ground. Suddenly, he lifted the knife and threw it in Kaito’s direction. The knife hit its target, embedding itself in the barrel of the HYDRA weapon, causing whatever held the blue glow to crack and start sparking. Kaito dropped the weapon with a cry of pain and surprise, providing a perfect distraction._

_Isaac dove for his gun; the one Kaito had kicked aside. He only managed to get about a foot from the gun before he felt Kaito grab him by his collar. It was a very clumsy grip, however, and the collar slipped from his hands. However, Isaac felt something thin and metallic, like a chain, wrapped around his throat, causing him to gag and choke. It only took him a second to realize that it was the chain of his dog tags, which Kaito had succeeded in getting a hold of and was trying to use to hoist him up. Isaac fought his attempts, using as much strength as he could to pull against the chain. Finally, the chain either snapped or unclasped, and Isaac felt the pressure against his throat release. Kaito staggered back at the sudden loss of resistance, and then looked at the dog tags in his hand before tossing them aside with a growl and charging at Isaac, who was once again scrambling for his gun._

_This time, Isaac succeeded in getting hold of the gun, and flipped over on his back to fire it at Kaito as he charged at him. But as he did, the Brute grabbed the gun and forced it away from him, causing the bullet to be fired into the wall instead. Kaito yanked the gun from his hand and chucked it behind him, where it landed right by Dr. Oshiro's feet. Thinking fast, Isaac swung his foot forward and kicked Kaito in the gut, causing him to double over and let go of him. Isaac tried to crawl fast to get his gun, but he wasn't able to get it quick enough before Dr. Oshiro sprang forward and grabbed it, right as he reached for it._

_"Don't move!" he ordered, pointing the gun at the young soldier._

_Isaac froze, staring wide-eyed at Oshiro, namely the gun in his hands. He raised his right hand in defense, trying to say something but nothing came out. He frantically jabbed at his own brain, attempting to find some way he could get out of this. Just then, the Doctor looked up at Kaito, and shouted something at him in Japanese._

_Using the momentary distraction, Isaac charged at Oshiro, forcing him back against the wall as he attempted to pry the gun from his hand. However, for a lanky guy, Oshiro put up one hell of a fight, even against someone so much stronger than him. He just refused to let go of the gun, but that didn’t stop Isaac from trying. However, his effort to get the gun was aborted by something hard hitting him on the back of the head, sending him crashing onto the ground._

_Isaac groaned and tried to get up, only to be grabbed by the collar again. Through wobbling vision, he looked up and saw Kaito glaring down at him, his narrow eyes even narrower. Then, he saw his fist come flying at his face at high speed._

_There was a jolt._

_A crack._

_Then nothing but darkness._

~*~

He didn't remember much else after that.

Everything flashed back and forth between complete blackness and either blurry or mostly clear images. He was pretty sure that whoever had him (Dr. Oshiro, no doubt) had him drugged most of the time. He couldn't even tell which of the things he remembered were real or just drug induced dreams. He only could recall that he was in a moving vehicle at one point, at least. Then there were bright lights and he couldn't move, feeling what felt like straps on his ankles, wrists, and possibly his chest. It was a similar sensation to when he was being tortured in Austria, except it didn't feel like typical torture. What did Oshiro do to him?

He tried to dig deeper into his mind to try and remember more details. But all that did was make his head spin more and his vision blur. To add onto that, his stomach felt like a black hole collapsing further and further into itself, and his mouth felt like the Sahara Desert. He had been so preoccupied with avoiding danger that he hadn't become aware of it until just then. When was the last time he ate or drank? He couldn't remember, but it felt like a decade ago. He also became aware that he was shivering. The air had a rather vicious nip to it, which was further enhanced when he suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing a coat.

Odd.

It really shouldn't be this chilly. The last thing he remembered, it was June, and the nights were often warm. Not anything like it is now. This sudden connection of time instantly ignited a spark of panic inside his chest. How long had he been held captive? Was it still the same year? He knew it couldn't be the same month, but there was no telling just how many months have passed since he was captured. He tried to focus harder on the few memories and images he had of his captivity, hoping that maybe he would remember a calendar or a clock that he saw that might give him some idea of what the date was.

But all that did was make his head spin even faster. It was like the more he tried to concentrate on those memories and images the more they were absorbed by the blackness of the night around him. The heaviness of his eyelids, the sinking hole in his stomach, the dryness in his mouth, and the burning in every muscle of his body, especially his legs, didn't help at all either. In any other situation he would stop for rest, but...he just couldn't right now! So he pushed himself forward, hoping to find some sort of reprieve; not even knowing where he expected to find it.

But it seemed that with each step he took, the blackness became deeper and denser.

Finally, what he had been waiting for earlier happened, and the ground underneath his feet dissolved, leaving him falling rather than floating into the darkness.

Or, more appropriately, his legs gave out from under him. The exhaustion, hunger, thirst, and fatigue had taken its toll and stole the bones from his legs, sending him tumbling down into the ditch that bordered the road. He let out a groan as he hit the bottom, but it was only half-hearted. With heavy limbs he willed himself to try crawling up the side of the ditch, but the cold and the tiredness in his eyes numbed his senses into pure unwillingness. Finally, his desire to persist vanished, and he succumbed to the weight on his eyelids. His head slumped down onto the cold grass, his eyes slowly closing as the darkness around him bled into his head, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

And as he fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep, a pair of headlights emerged through the blackness on the road, heading right in his direction.

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! This first chapter was a lot longer than I thought it would be. I didn't realize just how many things I wanted to put into this chapter when I was writing the outline. It wasn't until it took me ages just to get this one chapter done that I realized 'holy shit, this is a long one!" Let's hope the quality trumps the tedium of the length. 
> 
> Anyway, I don't think that the other chapters will be quite this long, but we'll have to see.
> 
> Also, I took French for two years in College and can hardly remember a word. That's why most of the sentences spoken in French will be translated.
> 
> Oh, and if any of you happen to spot any grammatical errors, or writing mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them. It's way too easy to miss that sort of stuff in a document this long.


End file.
